Hulu Plus Will Still Inflict Ads on Paying Viewers
If you were shelling out $9.99/month for Hulu's upcoming Hulu Plus subscription service, wouldn't you expect it to show some restraint concerning the commercials? Apparently that's not how this new service will work -- even if it does give subscribers considerable perks like the ability to watch shows on multiple platforms and access to entire seasons of both current and past TV shows.
Nope. it's also going to give subscribers ads -- lots of ads -- according to The New York Post. As the service ramps up for an October launch, it is also looking to sell advertisers on $2 million packages, which "would give advertisers a larger presence during a complete series of TV shows." Currently, advertisers only have access to what Hulu has, which is a few recent episodes of hit shows.
Even though advertisers are reportedly signing on, this seems like a bit of a gamble on Hulu's part. Hulu Plus, as a Web-based service that draws revenue from both subscribers and advertisers, has never been tried. Therefore, whether it's fair or not, don't be surprised if consumers who subscribe expect that the advertising will be minimized -- or not there at all -- even though there will be far more value from Hulu Plus than there ever has been on plain vanilla Hulu.
This model is closest to cable, a medium in which people pay a lot of money and still have to see lots of ads, but the danger here is that people will instead compare it to at least two other paid, on-demand models in which viewers don't see ads. One is iTunes, where many of the same shows are available, and the other is season-long DVD packages. (NetFlix's TV offerings may be a third.) If you dig deep into Hulu Plus' model, you'll see there is much more value there than in the models I just mentioned; Hulu is offering full seasons of dozens upon dozens of old and new shows, across multiple platforms, and in HD, for $9.99/month. The season pass to this year's House In HD on iTunes is $59.99. Hulu must be betting on consumers getting the huge differential in the price/value equation, but given that Hulu Plus is not just a new service, but a new idea, it's hard to be sure.
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- Seven (Often Stupid) Reasons Hulu Doesn't Have More Ads
- Hulu Is Starting to Show Itself the Money