Hulu is one of the most popular streaming services around, whose reason of existence is not far fetched. It has an extensive library and plenty of original content, with a lot of interesting features. There is a lot of streaming services out there, with more being added all the time. One of the oldest services that still remains the best is Hulu. Having an extensive library of films and shows, and now its Live TV add-on, Hulu is still one of the top streaming platforms in the United States.
Hulu is a video streaming platform that has been around for more than a decade. It was founded in the year 2007, and currently owned by Disney and Comcast, with the Walt Disney Company having the highest share. Unfortunately for many, Hulu is available only in the United States and Japan. As at April 2020, the platform is having about 32 million subscribers. Hulu also has a vast library of content, estimated to hosts around 2,500 movies and more than 40,000 episodes from thousands of TV shows.
Together with its new addition of Live TV streaming. However, Hulu concentrated primarily on streaming newer TV shows from many popular network broadcasters, plus original content, blockbuster, and independent films, and documentaries.
This platform is distinct from other popular streaming sites such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video in that it allows users to get earlier access to popular series from multiple traditional networks. You literally have to wait for a week and in some cases, just for days, to get to watch episodes of popular broadcast TV series after they’ve been aired. Unlike the cables, there are no hidden fees, equipment rentals, or installation appointments associated with having a Hulu subscription.
In October 2019, Hulu added the ability to watch content offline, something that users of other streaming services have not been able to do for years. Viewers are enabled to download up to 25 titles across five different devices and will have up to 30 days to watch their downloaded content.
What devices can I use?
Just as it is stated on Hulu’s website, Hulu and Hulu + Live TV are available on a wide range of popular streaming devices, including both Android and iOS devices, it is also compatible with Roku, Amazon’s Fire TV, Apple TV, Fire tablets, Google Chromecast, Android TV, Vizio, Mac, and PC browsers, select LG and Samsung smart TVs, the Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, and the Nintendo Switch. While some older platforms and devices, such as the PlayStation 3, are still lagging behind concerning the full-fledged Hulu experience, which is unlikely to change, reason been that consumers are always pushed to upgrade. Others that are stocked on Hulu’s Classic app (which does not allow for select features, including the live TV option) are select Vizio TVs, Wii U, TiVo, and some Blu-ray players from Sony, Samsung, and LG.
How much does Hulu actually cost?
Earlier, Hulu used to offer a free (although limited) version of its library of content, that is no longer the situation. In the year 2016, the platform moved entirely to a subscription-based model thereby eliminating the free, ad-supported service. More over, in a recent partnership with Yahoo, Hulu transferred some of its free content to Yahoo View. The website will make available the most recent episodes of selected series, and new episodes will be added eight days after.
The traditional Hulu streaming service has been divided into a subscription, ad-supported tier for $6 per month (following a price drop of $2 per month) and an ad-free tier for $12 per month (which is said to worth the price). Hulu + Live TV is $55 per month, up from a sweet debut price of $45, which includes the ad-supported streaming option, 50 hours of cloud DVR, and the ability to watch on two screens at the same time. Is better adding another $6 in order to do without the constant nagging to pay for something while streaming.
What is Hulu + Live TV?
Hulu + Live TV is the Hulu’s recent undertaken. The $55 per month streaming service (following a $10 price bump in November 2019) allows subscribers to watch live and on-demand TV programming from more than 60 channels, including local news and sports, together with everything you will get from Hulu’s on-demand tiers. Most recent additions made to it includes; Discovery Channels, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Motor Trend, and Animal Planet.
Hulu + Live TV can be likened to other services such as the Sling TV or YouTube TV which give access to live programming without the need for a cable or satellite subscription. Just like those other services, Hulu + Live TV is not without some slants. In that, the streaming quality for live programs is often not as good as that of cable and may suffer with slower internet speeds or during the high-traffic periods, in the case of numerous live TV streaming services. In other to watch on a PC, go to the Hulu + Live TV website at new.hulu.com. From there, you will see the options for on-demand content, as you would with a traditional Hulu subscription, but you’ll also see a “Live TV” button at the top of the screen.
How would you get it?
Signing up for Hulu is easy whether you are using a smartphone or computer. Kindly visit hulu.com/welcomeand then follow the on-screen information. You can likewise link your Hulu account with your Apple or Android account to make payments simpler. Peradventure you are using a mobile app or TV app, Hulu do have simple sign up and activation methods built-in.
Unlike traditional TV, Hulu does not demand any contracts or long-term commitments. As a matter of fact, you can enjoy the service’s seven-day free trial and cancel afterward with no fees (it should be noted that you do have to put in your credit card information while you’ resigning up). But if you desire to cancel your subscription, which is possible, you can do so easily online or via customer service. And If you ever decide to get back to it again, your account information will still be available.
Finally, taking a look at the movie catalogue, it was admitted that this area is where Hulu falls a bit short compared to the competition. Sure, you can find classics, but there is also a lot of less than great titles compared to Netflix. In particular, there are a lot of mediocre comedies, soapy dramas, and Christmas movies. Many recent films, on the other hand, are heavily advertised on the movies page but are only available through pay cable TV add-ons like STARZ which is $8.99/month.
