Hulu Plus Is Considering Cutting Back on Ads

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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May 9, 2000
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Hulu Plus is a very different animal from its main competitors, namely Netflix and Prime. Hulu Plus interrupts the streaming programs to run advertisements, where the others do not. This fact has not gone unnoticed by the potential subscribers and it shows in Hulu Plus subscriber rate. To become more competitive, there may be a shift coming in how the company addresses advertisements in the near future.

There is strong speculation that Hulu may offer a new membership level with no ads or very limited ads. Well no official numbers have been released there is speculation that Hulu makes more from ads than it does from subscribers. Moving away from that model would signal a major shift in the way the company is run.
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Wait, you mean messing up the streams buffering and showing me the same commercial 5 times in a row annoys customers?
 
You know, when Plus first started, it was commercial free, than they saw more money in Ad's. When they get the subs, there gonna bring them back again for even more money.
 
The only way I will get a Hulu sub is if there are no ads. Otherwise there's no point...at least I can skip ads with a DVR.
 
Seeing the same ads over and over and over again is really what gets me. My gf was binge watching top chef or something and I must have heard the same ad every single commercial break. I really wish they would eliminate ads or cut back on them significantly.
 
voklskier4452 said:
Seeing the same ads over and over and over again is really what gets me. My gf was binge watching top chef or something and I must have heard the same ad every single commercial break. I really wish they would eliminate ads or cut back on them significantly.
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Can you please tell your gf if she watches commercials on the internet she doesn't understand the internet.
 
I'd like Hulu Plus much better without ads. The only reason I keep it is because my wife watches a lot of shows on it. I've had some luck with SB, but run into issues getting complete seasons from time to time.
My kids refuse Hulu Plus. They hate commercials. No problems watching Netflix or Amazon.

I want a legitimate service that allows my family to watch what we want. I'm willing to pay to get this. Hence the subscriptions to Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime (would still pay for Prime for the shipping - nice bonus). When Aereo was an option, I had it as well.

I do not want to pay for cable. I hate the service they provide and do not think it is a value. If they ever provide a la carte channel service, perhaps we will be in touch...
 
Agree. It's b.s. to PAY for a service AND still watch the ads. Pick one or the other. I've had Hulu Plus trials but I'll never pay for it as long as they have this model.
 
You know, I can understand showing ads on currently running seasons of programs. What I can't understand is showing ads on anything their competitors offer included in the cost of membership. Yes, you can buy current episodes of programming on Prime but to watch them for the cost of the sub you have to wait a year (in most cases). Same goes for Netflix.

So, yeah I can understand if they (Hulu) have to put advertising in the current stuff and share it (ad revenue) with the networks. That makes sense since that gives them an edge and gives the networks additional reason to opt in. The fact that they're double dipping by getting subscription costs and ad revenue on older programming that you can get ad free via the competition just makes them look like greedy dicks.
 
mls1995 said:
Agree. It's b.s. to PAY for a service AND still watch the ads. Pick one or the other. I've had Hulu Plus trials but I'll never pay for it as long as they have this model.
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Yeah. I hate that my cable subscription has commercials. What a bunch of assholes. :rolleyes:

Honestly, the ads aren't bad, I rarely see the same one played more than once per entire episode and they are far shorter than the commercials that come with a paid cable subscription.

There's only 2 ways to get recent run content that cheap, buy a cable/satellite subscription or pirate it. Seriously $8 and a few ads? Not much to complain about. I would almost say get used to it. Imagine in 10 years when this is the norm. Commercials catered directly at the viewer and you have no way to skip them, you can bet it's coming.
 
What do you need Hulu for. It's a bunch of TV shit nobody cares about. Plenty to see on Netflix.
 
TwiceOver said:
Yeah. I hate that my cable subscription has commercials. What a bunch of assholes. :rolleyes:

Honestly, the ads aren't bad, I rarely see the same one played more than once per entire episode and they are far shorter than the commercials that come with a paid cable subscription.

There's only 2 ways to get recent run content that cheap, buy a cable/satellite subscription or pirate it. Seriously $8 and a few ads? Not much to complain about. I would almost say get used to it. Imagine in 10 years when this is the norm. Commercials catered directly at the viewer and you have no way to skip them, you can bet it's coming.
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Cable is a service supplying you with content from networks who decide whether or not they'll go with or without ads. Watch content from commercial TV and you get ads, watch content from premium services such as HBO, Starz, etc and get the entire program ad free. You're paying for that premium content supplied ad free just like you're paying a subscription to a premium internet program service that's interrupting the content for ad revenue when the others aren't. I get IFChd with my TV package. They show uncut movies with commercial breaks and I watch it because I'm not investing an added cent to see movies uncut. I also subscribe to Showtime and if they started interrupting programming to put ads in for revenue beyond their subscription cost, you can bet that I'd stop subscribing.
 
f6LJIgA


Yo dawg I heard you like ads....
 
there was a survey sent out. What they do with the data who knows, but clearly they are not sure what the market will bear and if they have enough people willing to pay to avoid ads. They asked a few other things I'm sure someone will leak the info eventually.
 
Paying money for a service that not only has ads but blocks VPN protocol? F. No.
 
As a cord cutter I'm always on the lookout for some good internet TV options but as long as Hulu has ads and Netflix and Prime do not, I won't be subscribing. Hell commercials are a big reason I've almost stopped watching TV. They're just way too many and they're everywhere. My favorite are the 30 second ads you have to watch before you can watch a 15 second highlight clip on ESPN's site.
 
There is strong speculation that Hulu may offer a new membership level with no ads or very limited ads.
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If you subscribe to Hulu Plus you're already seeing limited ads. Without Plus Hulu runs ads that are as long as TV commercial breaks but with Plus it's rare for me to see a break that lasts more than 60 seconds.

That said I do agree that it's bullshit that they charge as much as Netflix but still feel the need to ram ads in front of their paying viewers eyeballs.
 
Dwango said:
If you subscribe to Hulu Plus you're already seeing limited ads. Without Plus Hulu runs ads that are as long as TV commercial breaks but with Plus it's rare for me to see a break that lasts more than 60 seconds.

That said I do agree that it's bullshit that they charge as much as Netflix but still feel the need to ram ads in front of their paying viewers eyeballs.
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This, it's generally a commercial before one 15 minutes in one in the middle one towards the end all 30-60 seconds. Sometimes you get to pick what the commercial will be. If this allows them to keep up with content I am fine with it.
 
Match Netflix and Prime in service and price and I'll subscribe..simple as that.

Continue trying to charge the same as them and force me to watch ads? Lol..No..I'll let other idiots pay for that garbage. May as well have regular cable at that point.
 
7.99 w/ads is still cheaper than an hd-dvr setup. Most the shows I watch are on it. Ad's suck, but it beats paying $50+ for the pleasure of being able to fast forward through 7 ads instead of just watching one or 2.
 
JeffDC said:
Can you please tell your gf if she watches commercials on the internet she doesn't understand the internet.
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Hulu has been very active in blocking adblock techniques.

I can't stand the ads because there's only a few of them.
 
I took the time an ad played on my hulu plus videos to tweet them and bitch about it every time instead of watching the commercial. maybe it worked!
 
Thank god, please let this happen. The ONLY reason I keep my H+ sub is for my wife, I absolutely cannot stand to try and watch anything on there. It pisses me off to no end how many ads they show, its absurd.
 
Skripka said:
Paying money for a service that not only has ads but blocks VPN protocol? F. No.
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I still don't understand why anyone pays for the service and still accepts the ads. And that VPN issue essentially made them turn away free money. I mean was it costing hulu money to stream overseas US intended content?

That company makes terrible decisions, it's what drives people to VPNs.
 
Well, considering it costs me $3 an episode to watch a new show on Amazon without ads, a subscription to Hulu without ads would have some value.


I've never subscribed to Hulu in the past because ads are a colossal waste of time.
I've never had a cable TV service of my own, either. Once I spent a few years without ads blaring in my ear, I could never go back.
 
gsilver said:
Once I spent a few years without ads blaring in my ear, I could never go back.
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Same here. Same with every cord cutter I've known.

Isn't it amazing how you really don't understand how evil it is, until you get rid of it for a while: a box that sits in the middle of your home and spews relentless physical violence, political conflict, offensive advertising and endless artificial need... Horrible!

It's going on three years since we cut the cord and it was easily the best mutual family decision we've ever made. Stress levels in the house have never recovered. :)
 
To each their own. I understand that the content holders set the price and there's really nothing Hulu/Netflix/Amazon can do about it. Would I pay double for an "Ad free Hulu" assuming the same content? No.
 
Grahamkracka said:
The only way I will get a Hulu sub is if there are no ads. Otherwise there's no point...at least I can skip ads with a DVR.
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How i would feel, it is like going to the movies now and the first 15 mins are commercials.

I paid money, and A LOT for 1-2hours of entertainment and now you are going to waste my time with BS commercials... f*** you.. customer lost.

So same for Hulu, netflix and others. I am paying you to see content, not be spammed with crap i do not want to see.
 
TwiceOver said:
Yeah. I hate that my cable subscription has commercials. What a bunch of assholes. :rolleyes:

Honestly, the ads aren't bad, I rarely see the same one played more than once per entire episode and they are far shorter than the commercials that come with a paid cable subscription.
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Proud cable cutter here, why pay for 5 minutes of content separated by 5 minutes of ads, this is the modern age, Youtube is free. My mother's an old woman so it was harder for her at first, but now she wonders why she put up with it.

Hulu gonna meet the same fate in this new age of content consumption, people wont put up with that kinda bullshit anymore.
 
i would be willing to pay a little more if they also allow 3+ concurrent streams at the same time. i think right now they limit you to 1 at a time.
 
Hulu needs to die after this South Park bullshit. Hell, South Park needs to die after this Hulu bullshit.
 
The only part of hulu ads that was annoying is that they showed the same ones a hundred times. I like how people bitch about paying for hulu+ and still watch ads. Have few of you seemed to actually pay for it before where the ads are pretty much 1 or 2 per an episode and it's just 1 ad not 3-5 ads in a row. Hardly annoying and acceptable considering all the waste shit you get with cable.
 
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