Hulu Considers Adding Pricier Commercial-Free Tier This Fall

Quick, if you had to choose one, which would you pick -- Hulu or Netflix? Both have their pros and cons, though in Netflix's favor, it doesn't force you to sit through ads. That's a huge bonus for people who don't believe they should be required to both pay for a service and watch commercials, even though that's how it works with cable and satellite TV.

Regardless, this is the age of the Internet, and the same rules don't necessarily apply. At least that's how consumers think. With that in mind, Hulu is reportedly kicking around the idea of offering subscribers an advertising-free tier, one that would presumably cost more than the $7.99 subscription plan Hulu currently offers.

Hulu

The codename for the ad-free plan is called NOAH, or No Ads Hulu. Citing people who are supposedly familiar with the plan, Hulu could launch the new service tier as early as this fall with a monthly subscription fee in the neighborhood of $12 to $14.

Those are high figures in the land of streaming and even at the lower end ($12 per month), the cost is likely to be a big turnoff to many users. And that might be what Hulu really wants. The very reason Hulu has been able to attract media companies is because of ads. TV content providers are loathe to train a generation of users to expect content without commercials, as it's a profitable endeavor for them. On top of that, they've been stubbornly slow to adapt to the online world we now live in.

Even still, there's a large outcry for ad-free viewing, hence why Hulu would considering an ad-free tier, albeit at a cost that won't kill off its regular tier.

Would you pay $12 to $14 per month for an ad-free experience on Hulu, or is that asking too much?