Hulu hikes cost of 1 plan, drops price of another
Streaming service Hulu is updating its monthly pricing plans, decreasing the price tag of its entry-level, on-demand offerings while increasing the cost for live TV subscriptions.
Hulu’s basic service, which includes more than 85,000 episodes of TV shows such as “This is Us” and “Killing Eve,” as well as Hulu originals including “The Handmaid’s Tale,” will now cost $5.99 monthly, a $2 reduction in the service, which includes limited commercials.
The price of monthly on-demand streaming without commercials remains $11.99.
Hulu’s live TV service, which has more than 60 channels, including local major networks (where available), is available in two flavors: $44.99 monthly for Hulu + Live TV with commercials (an increase of $5 monthly), and $50.99 monthly for Hulu + Live TV with no ads, an increase of $7 monthly.
The price changes go into effect Feb. 26 for new subscribers; current subscribers will see the new monthly fees reflected in the subsequent billing cycle after that date.
Walt Disney Co. CEO Robert Iger hinted at possible Hulu live TV price increases in November during the company’s discussion of its fiscal fourth quarter financials.
Hulu has experimented with lower prices for its basic service, including a
$2 price drop in October 2017. Meanwhile, many of Hulu’s live TV competitors increased prices last year, pointing primarily at the rising cost of programming as services added local TV broadcasters and more channels.
And Netflix, the on-demand streaming leader, is raising prices, too. Last week, the net TV provider rose prices for new subscribers: its most popular plan of two HD streams increased by $2 to $12.99, while its $7.99 non-HD plan increased by $1 to $8.99. Netflix’s $13.99 premium plan with four simultaneous streams in 4K rose
$2 to $15.99.
Those prices will kick in for current subscribers over the next three months.
Hulu began offering on-demand streamed TV and movies in 2008 and expanded into live TV in May 2017 with
50 channels. Since then, it has expanded to more than 60 channels
Hulu’s on-demand library includes many TV favorites including “ER,” “Lost,” “Seinfeld” and “South Park.”
Hulu is operated by Disney (ABC), which has its original 30 percent stake plus the 30 percent stake it got in assets Disney paid Fox $71 billion last year. Comcast (NBCUniversal) owns a
30 percent stake with AT&T (WarnerMedia) owning the remaining 10 percent.
The price changes come after Disney said last week it lost $580 million in its fiscal year ending Sept. 29, 2018, primarily for spending of programming on Hulu, as well as labor and marketing expenditures, all partially offset by growth in subscriptions and ad revenue.