Hulu Live TV Streaming For Mac And PC Offers Yet Another Tool For Cord Cutters
Fall is almost here, which means cooler weather (unless you live in Texas where fall weather is at least three months away) and sports to watch on TV. This is when many cord cutters start to get nervous. It's great to not have to pay that cable (or satellite) bill, but it's not so great to miss out on all the cool fall shows and football games. Hulu has your back though with the announcement of a new Live TV streaming service that supports both Mac and PC platforms.
Hulu hasn't come out and said that this service is beta, but it sure sounds like it is. Hulu is warning Mac and PC streamers that "...rather than wait until we’ve finalized our new Web experience, we’re opening up a basic version to Hulu’s live TV plan subscribers so they can stream live TV via their browsers." Hulu says that there are no plugins or extensions needed to stream live and on-demand TV content via Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, or Internet Explorer 11.
Hulu does stipulate that the service works "on select operating systems" but it stops short of saying exactly what OS is supported. Clearly Windows and Mac OS are supported; the jury is out on Chrome OS and Linux. Being able to stream live sports and other shows on your laptop is great for folks who might not have a set-top box like a Roku or other device to watch the content on their TV.
Since most people travel for work with a laptop, this will mean you can watch your favorite local teams wherever you end up (assuming you are in a local streaming market) as long as you have internet connectivity. Hulu writes, "This is a very early version of the new Hulu experience on the Web and we expect it to evolve significantly over the next few months. From point, click, and keyboard interactions, to responsive pages to fit all screen sizes; we are carefully considering all of the things that make building a web experience unique from living room and mobile devices."
Hulu promises to make improvements and add new features to the streaming service "continually" and it is asking for feedback from users of the service. The service will support live sports from "ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN U, SEC Network, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, CBS Sports Network, Big Ten Network or your local ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC channels in select markets." Streaming on the PC or Mac also supports on demand-shows, Hulu originals, kids content, and premium add-ons like HBO and others. Hulu's Live TV streaming service debuted back in May.
