You can now watch 50-plus channels of live TV on Hulu with $39.99

Despite missing some popular channels such as AMC (The Walking Dead), Discovery and Nickelodeon, Hulu's live TV service has 18 of the top 25 primetime networks and represents a different offering to what's already out there for live TV streaming, said Vijay Jayant, research analyst for investment banking firm Evercore ISI, in a note to investors Wednesday.

That could help Hulu, especially given higher than-expected reductions in pay-TV subscribers during the first three months of 2017,he said.

Skinny bundle competitor

Hulu's monthly price compares well with other entrants in the growing "skinny bundle" battle. YouTube TV, which launched recently with ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC in the same cities Hulu is in, is priced at $35 monthly, but does not have the Turner channels (CNN, TBS).

Sling TV can be lower-priced than Hulu ($20-$40 monthly), but does not have CBS, or ABC in all markets. DirecTV Now ($35-$70) can offer more channels, but no CBS or cloud DVR, while Sony's PlayStation Vue (starts at $29.99) also does not have all broadcast affiliates nationwide.

Hulu says the combination of live linear TV and an abundant on-demand library gives the company a selling point lacked by other Net TV players such as Netflix and Sling TV.

“Hulu can now be a viewer’s primary source of television," said Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins in a statement.

So far, about two million subscribe to these live Net TV services, estimates Evercore ISI's Jayant.

Hulu, which has offered Net-delivered on-demand video since 2008, announced last year that it would add live TV to the service. Also last year, Hulu quit offering free content and added two subscription levels: a $7.99 monthly tier with limited ads and a $11.99 tier with no commercials.

The service has expanded its own original programming to include The Mindy Project, 11.22.63, The Path and new series The

Handmaid's Tale, while also providing current broadcast shows such as The Voice, Empire and Scandal (new episodes usually go live a few hours after broadcast, at about 5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT) and a library of other TV series such as Seinfeld and South Park and movies.

Hulu to tell second season of 'Handmaid's Tale,' adds Marvel series
At launch, Hulu's live TV beta will be available on Apple TV, Chromecast and Xbox One, as well as Android and iOS mobile devices. Other devices including Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs and Mac and Windows PCs will get the option soon.

The $39.99 beta service comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR recording storage and up to six individual Hulu profiles with two simultaneous streams. Subscribers can upgrade to 200 hours of cloud DVR storage for $14.99 monthly and up to as many streams at home as wanted (three outside the home) for $14.99. (Get both features -- expanded cloud DVR and unlimited screens -- for $19.99.) Subscribers can also add Showtime for $8.99 monthly.

Hulu also unveiled a makeover for its user interface with improved recommendations and a Kids Mode, which gives children browsing capabilities of only kid-friendly shows. The new look comes to all beta subscribers, as well as current subscribers on 4th generation Apple TV devices, Xbox One and Android mobile devices.

>>136539
What a shitty business model. Sadly I can see millions of fanboys flocking to join this, probably not enough to keep it going for very long, unless.... We'll see what happens to online piracy in the next few months now that every open port is legal for them to throttle at will. All hail our corporate FCC.

>>136539
>Hulu has officially launched its long-awaited live TV service, increasing the choices for watchers who want to cut the cable cord.

People cut the cord because they don't want to pay a high price for a bunch of channels they don't watch just to watch the few that they do. This is basically reinventing that. No one's going to go for this.

I didn't know USA Today was running ads as news stories now. It's not surprising, given their target demographic is the mentally handicapped, but it's still a bit fucked up.

>>136548
Funny you should say that. Who owns USA Today? I'll tell you without you having to look it up on Wikipedia. A media company called Gannett owns it that also conveniently owns a bunch of local market network TV stations which would get to insert local advertisements into these streamed shows.

Youtube is also doing a similar thing.

Is this news or an advertisement?

At that point why not just buy fucking cable?

>>136619
Because some people don't watch sports channels

>>136691
I do and I wouldn't pay more than $30. I just illegally stream all my sports now.

>>136618
It's an ad disguised as news. Tis' a shame too because USAToday used to be a decent paper a decade or two ago.

This isn't news

>>136918
Yes it is

>>136993
No, it's an advertisement. News is produced by journalists who provide unbiased information about new events in the world with a sole objective to inform.

>>136539
This is /news/ not /ads/. Buy a banner cuck.

>>136997
This news informs about a new product that will effect many Americans.

>>137015
>that will effect many Americans.
Not a Yank. Don't care.

I would say $40 a month sounds like a rip off, but Google tells me the average you pay is over $100.

>>137067
How much do you pay?

I pay 200 a month

>>136908
I think Forbes is starting to do it too.

>>137125
>How much do you pay?
£147 a year for a TV licence.

I literally thought this was a cable company add just glossing over it. I came to ask why we are allowing advertising threads on /news/

>>137067
I can get 200+ cable channels in philadelphia for $50 a month. this isn't going to do well since it's much less channels for $10 less

>>137451
then why didn't you sage you faggot