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

AR in Harry Potter Game Is Next Best Thing to Real Magic

"Since Pokémon Go first launched in 2016, we've seen a number of other AR games launch as well," said Kristen Hanich, senior analyst at Parks Associates. However, none have risen to the same level...

WiFi, Managed Services and the Home Network: Solving In-Home Connectivity

More than 30 percent of computing and entertainment device owners reported loss of wireless connectivity last year, with home network routers identified as the most common source of the problems, Park...

Disney Plus isn't a 'Netflix killer,' but other streamers like Apple should be worried

The truth is that there has historically been a high rate of overlap between subscribers of streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and HBO Now. Research by Parks Associates late last yea...

Consumers Balk at Premium Smartphone Prices

"Parks Associates consumer survey data finds that between 2014 and 2018, the average amount paid by U.S. broadband households on their most recently purchased smartphone doubled from a mean of $258 to...