Hulu to Offer Semi Ad-free Version of it’s Streaming Service

So this is pretty good news, as perhaps the title suggests. Looking to get rid of Hulu’s ads? There’s a compromise in development.

Hulu announced today that, amidst the cries of subscribers and potential subscribers alike, they will be removing ads from the middle of content for a slightly higher cost. Keep in mind, the language here still suggests that preroll style ads will still display before and after each episode, however the entire stream itself will be commercial free.

Our opinion? Easily worth the 4 dollar upgrade. Compared to a $7.99 subscription, this decreased ad version will cost subscribers $11.99, well worth it as Hulu continues to bolster its movie content. We’re happy to stream an ad before and after content if it means we can enjoy the entirety of a show or movie without interruption. 

As Hulu adds a ton of movies in the coming months, it makes sense that it would offer a far less intrusive service for a slightly increased cost. As while we’re all used to television interruptions, commercial interruptions several times during a movie doesn’t flow well as Hulu ramps up to compete with Netflix and Amazon. 

Would I pay even slightly more to eliminate even those preroll ads? Probably. But this upgrade is almost an immediate “yes” from us here at Exstreamist. As Netflix continues to decrease the third party movies and TV shows available for streaming in exchange for producing more original content, it has been a pleasant surprise to see Hulu really pick up the slack.