Hulu's Most Popular Plan Falls To $6 Per Month, But There's A Catch For Live TV Subscribers
It's not often that we hear about price drops for streaming services; it's usually the opposite (as was the case with the Netflix rate hikes last week). But Hulu is bucking that trend, at least with its most popular streaming package.
Hulu's most basic ad-supported subscription plan was previously available for $7.99 per month. However, starting on February 26th, that price will drop down to a more palatable $5.99. We should note that Hulu offers this $5.99 pricing from time to time via promos meant to entice new customers, but this is a permanent price reduction that applies to all who sign up for this most basic streaming service.
With this service, you will of course have access to Hulu original programming, thousands of movies and over 85,000 (current and past) television shows that are accessible on-demand.
There is no change to the standard Hulu plan, which offers the same content catalog as the lower tier, but without ads to interrupt your viewing experience. As a result, customers will still pay $11.99 a month.
But while Hulu reduced prices by $2 at the low-end, it is raising prices by $5 for the range-topping Hulu + Live TV tier. You still get the core package from two lower plans, plus over 60 live channels. Those channels include local ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox affiliates along with networks like ESPN, CNN, TLC, TLC, Fox News, TBS, Disney Junior, and Food Network (and dozens more).
The new pricing for Hulu + Live TV will also go into effect on February 26th.
Last week, Netflix raised prices for all of its streaming service tiers, with its cheapest plan going from $8 to $9 per month and its HD plan (with two concurrent streams) going from $12 to $14. The company’s premium 4K UHD plan rose from $14 to $16.
However, Hulu's decision to raise the monthly rate of its Hulu + Live TV package might run into a bit of resistance from subscribers given that DirecTV Now and YouTube TV offer competing services at the $40 mark. This will especially be true if subscribers aren't beholden to Hulu's original programming.
