
Hulu Adds Commercial-Free Viewing - ingve
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150902006019/en/Hulu-Adds-Commercial-Free-Viewing
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Someone1234
It is welcome, but is it too little too late? When Hulu first appeared on the
scene, there was very little competition for the content they had (namely
brand new TV). Since then most of the major networks have created competing
paid services to Hulu that already lack adverts. People avoided Hulu+ because
the idea of paying AND getting ads was unwelcomed, and they offered nothing
else. Seems like they've burnt through much of their competitive advantage.

Can I also just say, Hulu's adverts might not be so bad if they didn't show
you the same advert twice in one commercial break, or six times in one 45
minute show(!). I'd be pretty annoying if I was a Hulu advertiser and I
discovered they showed my ad twice in a row and billed me twice (since that
isn't an effective way to advertise AND it makes people hate the advert). But
as a user OR advertiser it sucks.

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e1ven
It seems that not all shows will be commercial free, however. I understand
that they must have special arrangements with those producers, but it feels
very odd.

    
    
        Will all shows and movies be commercial free?
    
        In response to feedback from our viewers, 
        we started offering a commercial-free experience
        on Hulu. For a small number of shows, however, we 
        have not obtained the rights to stream commercial 
        free and they are not included in our No Commercials
        plan. You can still easily access these shows with 
        short commercial before and after each episode with no 
        interruptions during the episode. Specific shows that
        still have commercials accessible through the No Commercials 
        plan will be noted throughout the signup, switching, and
        playback experience. While the list of shows may change,
        these shows are currently: Grey’s Anatomy, Once Upon A
        Time, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Scandal, Grimm,
        New Girl, and How To Get Away With Murder.

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ascagnel_
Looking at two shows at random (Agents of SHIELD and New Girl), they don't
share any production or distribution, so it must be a per-show arrangement.

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drabiega
I've yet to find anywhere else with the combination of cheapness and
convenience that Hulu offers for the content they've got. I'll happily pay a
few extra dollars a month to get rid of the ads.

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ewzimm
Considering how much advertising seems to affect people (I'm sure you can
remember at least one commercial that played even from the early years of your
life), it's amazing to think that all of those repetitive, manipulative,
annoying ads can be wiped away for free if you agree to drink one latte a
month (or whatever you drink).

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HalcyonicStorm
It's remarkable that they decided to keep the commercial offering.

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MrZongle2
I disagree. I think the commercial-sponsored avenue is the way they want to
continue.

When you provide a commercial-free option, the only way to squeeze more
revenue out of it is to raise the subscription rate. But if you normally serve
commercials too, then you can double-dip: you can _occasionally_ raise the
subscription rate (which risks angering your customer base) or you can simply
add another commercial or two to a break.

And if _that_ pisses off your customers, then it's easy for them to go to the
commercial-free plan.

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mikelyons
Too late, I already swore them off when they made me pay to watch commercials.

