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Would You Pay For a Hulu Subscription?

Posted on Thursday, June 4th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta

hulu

News Corp.’s new chief digital officer Jonathan Miller commented at an Internet Week event last night that he believes at least some of the television shows and movies on Hulu will be available only to paid subscribers. While he admits that it isn’t likely to happen tomorrow, he says that “it seems to me that over time that could be a logical thing.”

Ad supported content seems to be the future of the web, so I’m not sure why Hulu would want to go backwards. I’m not sure I’d be willing to pay for Hulu’s current line-up, but I would be willing to pay a monthly subscription fee if they provided an archive of complete seasons for all the shows and a much larger vault of movies (netflix is the one to beat). Under that model, unpaid users could still watch the most recent episodes of television shows in a free ad-supported format. Or may-be offer a monthly subscription fee for those viewers who want to bypass all the commercial breaks (the upgraded experience model). But I just don’t like the concept of paid on demand movie rentals.

Discuss: Would You Pay For a Hulu Subscription? How Much? What For?

source: dailyfinance

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  • If I were able to stream HD to my TV and the shows were made aviable the day of broadcast or even before broadcast. I also would like uncensered versions of shows like "Southland" and "Family Guy" that edit out content for broadcast. Combined that with the access to every show's complete back cataloge and I'd be willing to pay up to $29.99 a month maybe a bit more.
  • If they can somehow get a better line up than Netflix, I'd consider it.
  • rcesm
    I would pay IF their selection was good, and IF the shows posted immediately after airing (within a day). I'd also like to see more recent/popular movies available.

    That said, Hulu's "hook" is that it's free and diverse. Take away the "free" part and they become 'NetFlix' for TV (and movies).
  • TheInsider
    Murdoch is trying to separate the internet into two categories, one with all premium paid for content and the rest is just all junk for free. Looks like they're starting to make steps towards this model with Hulu
  • If I were to pay for it, I would expect no Ads.
  • From this guy's comments that I read yesterday, he wants to make the most popular Hulu shows subscription based. So things like House, Fringe, The Office, 30 Rock, etc. that are extremely popular would require you to pay to watch -any- episode. And the idea that I am getting from this is that the subscription model would only be making you pay. I don't think they would add entire catalogs and I am even doubting commercial-free-ness.
  • The
    That's retarded. Hulu got popular because it was free access to all those shows and you didn't even need cable. This is the internet, where people are brutal. Hulu, with their snazzy commercials, should face the tough reality that... No, people do not like to pay for things on the computer/internet in general...
  • Sabones
    I'd pay if they removed commercials. Otherwise i have this other thing I pay monthly for called television.

    Between TV+DVR and netflix (for old movies and shows/seasons not airing right now), I'd have no use for an additional television service where I couldn't skip the commercials.
  • That's what I was thinking, except I don't think I'd pay for it even if they removed commercials. Why would anyone need this if they've got all the other things you mentioned? Because it's "On demand"?
  • Eric
    No, I would not pay. I use it because it's free, supported by advertising. If I wanted to pay money I'd just buy the shows on DVD to own them forever.
  • Marko
    I'd only pay if it was Ad-free. But limiting their film/TV catalogue to those who pay subscription fees is poop.
  • If they included all seasons of shows they carried, not just the five most recent (Or as TV.com did, infuriatingly, all but the first five episodes of a finished season), then I'd maybe consider a small fee. Currently I use Netflix on the 1 disc a month plan with their unlimited movies for $9/month. This is not terribly unreasonable.

    If it were $30-50 a month or something outrageous like that, I'd stick with free content and watch as Hulu shoots themselves in the foot.

    Cost to consumer is cost to company plus profits. As distribution costs go down, we expect our prices to go down as well. This is not unreasonable. I would not be interested in an online site for cable shows, that only air after the initial release, if there was not a substantial reduction in cost.

    You pay less, I pay less. That's the deal.
  • i think the best route is to keep offering what they have for free, but for a paid subscription add content. for example more back episodes and commercial free shows. they could also include HD streaming and a few other things. if they made us pay for any services that they already provides kind of takes away from why hulu is awesome and why we use it. i probably would pay for a subscription if did not take away anything that they already provide, but add some other features.
  • The
    We already have HD streaming... or is what you're talking about different from the 1080 option on vids?
  • Lawdog
    Pay Hulu would require 3 things

    1. No commercials
    2. Premium channel content - i.e. Eastbound and Down, Dexter, and Weeds
    3. Wider selection of movie content - I know it takes time to encode them, but they should at least sprinkle in a classic from time to time instead of just adding 40 year old clunkers.

    If they can't do that, then why would I pay to watch free tv on a smaller screen?
  • shadow
    NO, I watch Hulu because it's free and legal. And the free part is more important to me than the legal.
  • Scott
    NO. That's why I bear the commercials. I hope that guy is just blowing smoke...
  • yes, I would as long as the subscription is $15 or below per month.

    a lot of people pay for cable or satellite TV. this isn't any different.
  • peter
    David Carradine found dead in Bangkok.
  • Nooo i just read that. Very sad.
  • Deviant
    No! Google makes billions giving away it's services. Hulu works because it uses the same model. Give away great content and charge the advertisers to peddle their goods.

    Hulu is great the way it is and works well, they have done an amazing job thus far and now that some AOL schmuck comes along he want's to fix a working system?

    Screw'em If they go subscription based I'll turn to torrents.
  • I would pay for Hulu if it more consistently included every episode of shows, from the beginning. But there is no reason to pay for just 6 full episodes of The Sarah Conner Chronicles.
  • Tanaka
    Only if they allowed for the content to also be downloaded. Basically they're creating a program that merges Netflix with iTunes.
  • Unless they allow access to all parties involved massive libraries and allow for download to portable devices. If they don't its another case of the industry taking 1 step forward 2 steps back.
  • Andrew
    Well, I would pay if I could watch the Hulu stuff in the first place... Right now I can't watch anything from Europe...
  • It would depend on how much. Back when Yahoo's Launchcast was alive and well, I thought $3 a month was well worth it to avoid listening to the ads. Then again, I'd listened to that like 8 hours a day... I probably visit Hulu 8 times a year LOL
  • gina man
    ZERO POINT ZERO
  • And just when I was getting excited for a Hulu iPhone app.
  • Branden
    What's the fucking point of Hulu if you have to pay to see things? That's what the iTunes store is for. Are they retarded?
  • JasonSTL
    Nope. Typical bait and switch. Love Hulu now, but Newscorp isn't getting a dime from this boy.
  • Lpfanaddy
    No.
  • Jason
    There is no way i would pay for Hulu. If i were to pay for anything it would be Netfilx which has way more to watch and sends DVD's in the mail. Paying for Hulu would make no sense
  • shameless
    the day hulu starts charging is the day i stop watching
  • Steve
    They'd have to expand they're selection for it to be worth it, and even still I'd probably just go back to torrents to avoid paying.
  • What the hell? Why are they going all NetZero on us? I would NEVER pay.
  • Cypher
    Cant even watch anything in Hulu...
  • I watch hulu because its free.
    If it wasnti wouldnt even bother.

    You can find a lot of these shows and movies to watch already on the internet if you just use google.
  • my thoughts exactly.
  • if it came out for the iphone. maybe, a BIG maybe
  • joshi38
    If they started giving access to people outside of the US, then maybe... and that's a big maybe. But a monthly subscription for being able to watch an unlimited amount of TV (and if they were to charge more for movies) I probably wouldn't say no to... probably.
  • BUTH
    I can't even use Hulu in Germany. And this means: it sucks!
  • Aaron
    No.

    Anything you watch on Hulu is constantly interrupted by commercial breaks of 30-or so-seconds. that's been the agreement between the site and its followers. "You can watch all of these great shows and movies, if you're willing to also watch small amounts of commercials." Every once in awhile, you get that golden nugget where you can "watch" a 2+ minute promo for something and then watch your show/movie commercial free.

    To charge customers for a product that you are already being paid by advertisers to provide is about as greedy as it gets. It's the definition of a "middle man", and I will not be paying for it.
  • Brad
    This guy is an idiot. This policy shift is stupid. I watch almost all my TV on hulu right now and have no problem with the ad supported model but if they switch to making me pay they will lose me.
  • Ravin
    So I'm going to pay $30 bucks for TV and Internet and then another $30 JUST for hulu? Yeah, right. TV survives on paid advertising, why can't hulu do the same? I think they should start putting more hulu-only exclusives for popular television shows, that way they can channel a wider TV audience onto the net and use the increased traffic to lure more profitable advertisers. Unless the recession has simply eliminated ad dollars altogether, which I'm not sure I buy.
  • spartacus
    I would only pay if it replaced my cable and netflix subscription. That means catalogues of full seasons, a larger movie library and current shows uploaded the same time they air broadcast. It's already hard enough to avoid Lost spoilers. But I'd rather continue to watch it in it's current, free, ad supported model. Hulu is doing advertising right. Watching one ad a break is no big deal, and bound to be more effective for advertisers since I don't really have time to get up and do anything so I pretty much have to watch the spot. Ultimately, paid or not, it will need to be ad supported to some degree. I just don't think there's enough money in subscriptions to produce all these shows.
  • HULU IS PROUD TO SUPPORT..............i would not pay. i will eat the commercials.
  • LOL Great joke Peter ^_^ This is hillarious.

    Wait, you're not joking. Well, damn it.
  • I would pay for a HULU subscription if they provided a good selection of shows, full season etc.
    Oh, and if I didn't live in Europe where we still have to watch TV the way they did in the stoneages. Gosh darnit!
  • I'd pay for it. Especially if it would work internatially because I do alot of work travelling to europe for months at a time and it currently doesn't work there.

    I'd be willing to pay $5 to $10 a month since that it close to what I pay for Usenet access to currently download shows.
  • ...NOPE!
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