Once upon a time streamers like Netflix and Hulu touted themselves as a cheaper and more viewer-friendly alternative to cable television. You didn’t pay an arm and a leg, and you could the benefit of watching what you wanted. How things have changed. Though Hulu, like Netflix, has successfully blossomed into a destination place for original movies, the Streaming Wars — which finds the online battlefield clogged with services, each vying for your dollar — are in full swing, and old war horses like Netflix and Hulu are no longer the only games in town. And now they’re not even cheap.
As per Deadline, Hulu announced that, starting December 18 of this year, their popular live subscription package — which is basically like having cable, but cheaper — is going to become slightly more expensive. Their monthly subscription will be going up 18%, which may not sound lot like a lot but is an extra 10 bucks a month, from $54.99 to $64.99. That’s not quite like having some lavish and pricey cable package, but it’s not far. And it brings Hulu in line with YouTubeTV, which runs the same amount per month.
Mind you, this only affects the 4.1 million subscribed to Hulu’s Live TV package and not the 32.5 million paying customers of their on-demand service, who will continue paying a relative pittance. Still, people online were pissed, with a number of people saying that Hulu had, at long last, just become cable.
my face when YouTube TV and now Hulu just become cable companies pic.twitter.com/85vXiBb0wK
— J
seph Pa
on (@JosephPattonWx) November 16, 2020
Hulu and Netflix raising prices is almost defeating the purpose of having them.
“Cut the cord” was supposed to be about saving money. Now you are crossing into the realm of costing the same as cable, if not more per month with the streaming services.
— Digital Marketer (@kidyungn) November 16, 2020
Remember when #Hulu was the anti-cable competitor? Now they’re just fucking cable. Fuck this noise. pic.twitter.com/9nuwUoTcpV
— Brooks (@rybrooksb) November 16, 2020
Hulu, YouTube TV, and cable pic.twitter.com/K7FWgpaNNG
— Jamius (@freelanceburner) November 16, 2020
Hulu trying to raise prices on everyone for a 2nd time in 12 months #Hulu #cutthecord pic.twitter.com/xCYouQ4Os3
— sean garcia (@reloadedneo03) November 16, 2020
“Cut that cord, so we can hang you with it.” – Hulu https://t.co/F2ooZ40GVN
— Josh Denny (@JoshDenny) November 16, 2020
That pay hike, again, will go into effect starting on December 18.
(Via Deadline)