Roger Fingas
Hulu on Wednesday added a $12 "No Commercials" tier to its steaming video service, looking to better compete with rivals like Netflix and HBO Now, which have always been ad-free.
The existing zero-cost and $8 tiers will remain available, Hulu said. Both of those include advertising, but a paid subscription is needed to watch some content, or any video at all on mobile devices and set-top boxes.
The No Commercials option is not fully ad-free, however. Seven TV shows have been deemed "exceptions," according to Re/code, namely New Girl, Scandal, How to Get Away With Murder, Grey's Anatomy, Once Upon a Time, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Grimm.
These will have 15-second ads before they begin, followed by 30-second spots at the end. Unlike the free and $8 tiers, there will be no mid-show interruptions.
Rumors of an ad-free tier first emerged in July. The company was reportedly interested in a balance between attracting people used to ad-free video and keeping ad revenue flowing.
The announcement comes on the eve of a Sept. 9 Apple press event during which Apple is expected to reveal a radically redesigned Apple TV. A key feature may be Roku-like universal search, allowing people to locate content across multiple services and choose the one they want to go with.
Malcolm Owen
Oliver Haslam
Andrew O'Hara
Wesley Hilliard
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
53 Comments
If there are exceptions then it's not really ad-free -_-
The less folks are willing to pay for content the deeper I see media sinking into the reality-show quagmire. They're cheaper to produce but will get the same pay. Please HBO, keep your prices high enough that quality shows like GoT don't disappear. Screw the call for $40, all you can eat.
[quote name="sog35" url="/t/187986/hulu-launches-12-ad-free-streaming-tier-to-fend-off-netflix-other-rivals#post_2769657"]Clap, Clap, Clap. I love non-ad content. I'm sure there are millions around the world that are willing to pay a bit more to get no ads. Hulu Netflix HBO (not 100% ad free but close) AppleMusic iOS Ad blockers We need more services that cut ads. Ads are the bane of society... [/quote] Ads helped get Apple to get where they are. You don't see them throttling back do'ya? On the contrary when Apple releases a new product or big feature the media Cracken is let loose.
Clap, Clap, Clap.
I love non-ad content.
I'm sure there are millions around the world that are willing to pay a bit more to get no ads.
Hulu
Netflix
HBO (not 100% ad free but close)
AppleMusic
iOS Ad blockers
We need more services that cut ads. Ads are the bane of society. Hate them with a passion. I work too hard to waste my valuable time looking at piss poor ads. I'll pay big $ not to see that crap. Hope the whole ad industry tanks. Chief on this list is Google. Scum of the earth.
Funny you should bring this up. Yesterday’s podcast of MacBreak Weekly discussed this very thing. Advertisers are quite up in arms over iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 having new ad blocking technology. Websites that depend on advertising for their income could block access unless you agree to ads. Many popular and useful websites could simply vanish. Leo LaPorte said he originally founded Twit to be ad free and asked for donations instead. Didn’t happen. Basically people don’t want to see ads but they don’t want to pay either. Tightwads. Another possibility is micro payments where you don’t pay a subscription but you do pay say 5¢ for every article you access.
Bottom line is you can’t have it both ways. You can’t blocks ads and still expect the website to stay in business. You don’t want to pay for your content but you somehow expect the website to run on thin air anyway. If you get rid of ads then expect the diversity and content of the Internet to diminish. There are only so many subscriptions people will be willing to pay for every month. Let the market decide you say? Then only the big sites will be left.
How much per month would you pay for access to AppleInsider, iMore, MacWorld, 9to5 Mac, MacRumors, and all the other excellent Apple centric websites that have been around for a long time because of ads? Block the ads, goodbye website unless you pay.
Clap, Clap, Clap.
I love non-ad content.
I'm sure there are millions around the world that are willing to pay a bit more to get no ads.
Hulu
Netflix
HBO (not 100% ad free but close)
AppleMusic
iOS Ad blockers
We need more services that cut ads. Ads are the bane of society. Hate them with a passion. I work too hard to waste my valuable time looking at piss poor ads. I'll pay big $ not to see that crap. Hope the whole ad industry tanks. Chief on this list is Google. Scum of the earth.
No ads=No more Google.
Not a bad thing mind you. :p