In the streaming service hierarchy, Hulu rests pretty high up, offering not just a sizable library of original content, but also plenty of movies and TV shows licensed from other sources. But, as has been the case with cable and satellite TV subscriptions for a long time, every now and then, a streaming service will increase how much it charges subscribers. Well, that time has come come for Hulu, and it’ll be happening soon.
Starting on October 8, Hulu’s ad-supported and ad-free subscriptions are increasing by $1. So the former plan will go from $5.99 to $6.99 a month, and the latter plan will go from $11.99 to $12.99 a month. However, this price increase will not affected Hulu’s live TV plans or the Disney streaming bundle, where users can get Hulu with adds alongside Disney+ and ESPN+ for $13.99 per month.
Presumably the reason the live TV plans haven’t been affected is because Hulu already jacked up those prices last December, while with the Disney bundle, that increased back in March, at the same time Disney+’s monthly subscription rate went from $6.99 to $7.99. Regardless, subscribers to Hulu’s ad-supporter and ad-free plans will need to get ready to have one extra dollar pulled from their bank accounts each month. Hey, at least it’s not an extra $2 a month, which is what Netflix increased its Standard and Premium plans by back in 2019, while the bottom-rung Basic plan only went up by a dollar.
Hulu launched in 2007 as a joint venture between News Corporation, NBC Universal and Providence Equity Partners, with The Walt Disney Company joining in 2009. Nowadays, Disney has a 67% stake in the streaming service, with Comcast owning the remaining 33% and not having any control over its operations. So Hulu effectively serves as another arm of the Disney media empire, and it’s possible Comcast could end up selling its stake to the Mouse House by 2024. While Hulu’s 42.8 million subscribers trails far behind Disney+’s 116 million (keeping in mind that Hulu is only offered domestically, whereas Disney+ is offered worldwide), apparently it rakes in the most of Disney’s streaming revenue, per THR.
As far as Hulu’s original offerings go, the last several month have seen the debut of TV shows like Nine Perfect Strangers, MODOK, Reservation Dogs and Only Murders in the Building, as well as new seasons of established shows like The Handmaid’s Tale and Solar Opposites. Then on the films front, the John Cena and Lil Rey Howery-led Vacation Friends was recently released, and it became Hulu’s most watched original movie in the span of three days, leading to a sequel already being greenlit. With a lot more original content on the way, including Y: The Last Man, The Orville Season 3 and the Hellraiser remake, it’s up to the individual subscriber to determine whether was Hulu’s dishing out is worth that extra dollar each month.
If you’re curious about what Hulu is delivering this month, browse through the September 2021 lineup. Those of you simply curious about what the TV landscape as a whole looks like in the coming months should look at our fall 2021 TV premiere schedule.
