Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

Hulu Adds (Mostly) Ad-Free Subscription Service

Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins chalked up the exceptions to rights held by studios on select series. “They have other commitments that they couldn’t free them up for a complete commercial-free offering,” he said, adding that the service will clearly delineate the exceptions to users before they stream those series.

Other series that will have pre-roll include four ABC series: “How to Get Away with Murder,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Once Upon a Time,” “Agents of SHIELD,” and an NBC series, “Grimm.”

Hulu is making the move in response to subscriber complaints voiced in various forms of consumer research about having to pay yet still watch ads. Earlier this month, a Parks Associates survey found that half of Hulu subscribers have canceled service over the past 12 months, compared to just 9% for Netflix over the same span.

The new subscription option brings Hulu in line with its commercial-free rivals Netflix, which remains several dollars cheaper than Hulu depending on which rate its own subscribers pay, and Amazon Prime, which charges $99 per year for access to its content library in addition to free two-day shipping.

From the article "Hulu Adds (Mostly) Ad-Free Subscription Service" by Andrew Wallenstein. 

Previously In The News

Smart Home: $20 Threshold, Lingering Privacy Concerns

According to Parks Associates, 50% of U.S. broadband households surveyed consider $20 or more per month for a comprehensive smart home service to be a good value. More than 26 million U.S. households...

Roku Bolsters Its Strongest Business With a $150 Million Acquisition

The bears once believed Roku's hardware business would be crushed by rivals like Alphabet's Google Chromecast, Amazon's (NASDAQ:AMZN) Fire TV, and Apple TV. Yet Roku consistently remains the most popu...

YouTube TV Goes Live in Google’s Biggest Swipe at Comcast Yet

The name YouTube alone carries weight as a signifier of people’s viewing habits migrating online. And for networks taking part in YouTube TV’s launch, that could make coming aboard the service seem li...

Roku Is a Must-Have for New Streaming Services

It's no surprise to see Apple TV+ coming to Roku. The Roku platform dominates the U.S. market, powering 41 million over-the-top devices and smart TVs, trouncing its next closest competitor with 36% gr...