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

How Online Video Operators Are Fighting Back Against Organized Streaming Piracy

In 2023, Parks Associates projected that cumulative revenue loss to piracy for streaming services serving US consumers would reach $113 billion by the end of 2027, with the piracy rate for film and te...

In-home Wi-Fi problems create customer churn risk: Parks Associates

Broadband customers who experienced Wi-Fi dead spots, slow speeds, and poor customer service were about six times more likely to say they planned to switch providers, according to a new white pape...

Parks Associates: Managed connectivity now central to multifamily resident experience

A new white paper from Parks Associates, developed in partnership with Calix, argues that managed connectivity has evolved beyond basic internet access and is becoming critical infrastructure for...

Apple CEO John Ternus Bets on HomeView Smart Display to Revive Stalled Home Category

Jennifer Kent, principal analyst at Parks Associates, told CNBC that Apple “always waits for an ecosystem to develop first until they are positive they can provide a stellar user experience,” and that...