Hulu is finally going to give its subscribers an option to get rid of those pesky ads while watching current episodes of their favorite TV shows. The company has launched a new option that will offer commercial-free video streaming option for $11.99 a month.
The company stated:
"At Hulu, we pride ourselves on listening to our customers and giving them the best possible experience," said Mike Hopkins, CEO, Hulu. "Many of our customers have asked us for a commercial free option, and so today we are excited to introduce just that. Providing more choice for consumers is fundamental to the Hulu experience, in addition to an array of choices in content and devices, our customers can now choose to watch with or without commercials."
People who are already signed up for the current $7.99 a month option, with ads, can switch to the new commercial-free subscription program for an extra $4 a month. The new $11.99 service comes as Hulu is expanding into offering more movies, including a new multi-year agreement to stream movies from the Epix cable TV network. It is also making more investments in original programming like its biggest rival Netflix, including the upcoming event series 11/22/63, based on the novel by Stephen King.
There is some fine print to this deal, however, as explained in Hulu's FAQ page:
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 a 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.
Source: Hulu{.nofollow}
