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Hulu will increase the monthly price of its live TV broadcast package from $ 54.99 to $ 64.99 effective December 18, continuing a series of price increases for online video services that provide an alternative to the cable and satellite television. The increase will apply to new and existing subscribers.
Hulu + Live TV debuted at $ 40 per month in mid-2017, but it was up to $ 54.99 per month by December 2019. The new monthly price of $ 64.99 is for the package with over 65 live channels, plus access to Hulu’s library of ad-supported movies and shows on demand.
Hulu also offers a live TV plan with ad-free access to the streaming library. The price of this plan will drop from $ 60.99 to $ 70.99 per month. There is also a Live TV plan without Hulu streaming library, which drops from $ 53.99 to $ 63.99.
Hulu sent notices of upcoming price increases to existing subscribers and confirmed the change in their website Yesterday. The cheapest plan that only includes the ad-supported streaming library, with no live channels, will remain at $ 5.99 per month. The ad-free version will remain at $ 11.99. In comparison, the plans Netflix go of $ 8.99 to $ 17.99 per month after price increase last month.
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The majority owner of Hulu is The Walt Disney Company. Comcast owns a 33% stake in the company, but Disney had full operational control
since May 2019.
Price increases everywhere
Hulu’s latest price increase lines up with YouTube TV, which has risen from $ 35 in 2017 to $ 64.99 since June 2020. AT&T TV Now from $ 55 per month, as FuboTV’s family plan begins in $ 64.99 per month. Sling TV starts in $ 30 per month.
Periodic price increases have been an unfortunate event for cable and satellite television subscribers for decades. Customers can still save money by using a streaming service: AT&T charges a Average $ 130.55 per customer every month on DirecTV and its other premium TV services, for example. But streaming price increases are annoying for customers because reaction to Hulu’s latest price increase
Television providers generally attribute the price increases to the increased cost of programming. But some of the big TV providers own a lot of that programming themselves, so they can’t completely shirk responsibility for the price increases. Disney, for example, owns ESPN, ABC, and other channels found on Hulu and other television services.
Channel listings and additional features can vary widely by service, so it’s worth watching the different live TV options before choosing a streaming service. While price increases reduce the convenience of streaming services, online platforms undoubtedly offer advantages over cable and satellite in terms of choice and flexibility. Customers have more online streaming options, it’s easier to cancel and switch to another service, and the price is generally easier, with one notable exception in the form of AT&T TV.