5 ms·

I still don't understand the draw of Hulu Plus over something like Netflix or Amazon Prime (with its new video on demand servce). $8 a month to still have TV sh

I still don't understand the draw of Hulu Plus over something like Netflix or Amazon Prime (with its new video on demand servce). $8 a month to still have TV shows with ads in them? (and I swear they keep adding more advertisements to the shows each time I watch them). They do let you watch earlier seasons of shows, but that seems like Netflix would be a better option for that. So what's the real draw Gabriel has for subscribing?

sjs382 15y ago
It works on an iPad while regular Hulu doesn't. (right?)
- eggbrain 15y ago
  True, but it seems like a high price to pay simply to watch the latest television shows on your iPad / other iOS devices.
  - pavel_lishin 15y ago
    Depends on how much that money is worth to you vs. how much that content is worth to you.
  - noodle 15y ago
    you're paying for the immediacy of certain content, instead of having to wait for netflix.
  - mike-cardwell 15y ago
    The guy who wrote that article is a millionaire.
    - jason_slack 15y ago
      And that is relavent how? I am sure he got that way by not spending money he deemed as frivolous just to spend money. I am not a millionaire but I spend money on services I deem necessary for me.
      - mike-cardwell 15y ago
        The relevance is obvious. "it seems like a high price" ... "The guy who wrote that article is a millionaire"
  - kwis 15y ago
    Hulu also works on TVs. If I didn't love sports, and if an easy-to-use, unified interface wasn't crucial to my wife's acceptance, I could replace my $150+/mo satellite package with about $40/month of netflix, hulu, itunes and amazon.
- rksprst 15y ago
  Hulu plus works on the iPad.
epi0Bauqu 15y ago
It's about specific content, i.e. current TV shows not available via Netflix or Amazon Prime.
physcab 15y ago
I use both equally. Hulu is great for current content and it seems more like a TV replacement. But the movies on Hulu suck. Netflix has awesome movies. Its TV series is improving, but it will often get a series months after it airs. Theres definitely a place for both services. I only pay for Netflix right now because the Plus offering for Hulu just isn't there yet. A ton of the content isn't available on mobile and the buffering can be terrible at times. Also they claim to keep full series of shows for Plus members, but when I tried it out I couldn't find historical seasons for many popular shows that I had wanted to watch and start from the beginning. So that pretty much killed it for me.
- gcb 15y ago
  wait. the recent episodes are free to watch anyway, and the archived ones didn't worked for you... so for what exactly are you paying?!
  - MatthewPhillips 15y ago
    The ability to watch them on mobile and tv. Hulu is not free on any mobile device or any set-top box, but Hulu Plus is available on those.
  - erikpukinskis 15y ago
    Recent episodes are not always free. I was using the free only version until "HuluPlus" episodes started showing up that I wanted to watch. I pay the $8/mo and I watch about 4-5 shows that I have subscribed in my RSS feed. Seems reasonable. I get probably 3-4 episodes per week for $2. Cheap entertainment. And Netflix doesn't work on Linux.
ben1040 15y ago
$8 a month to still have TV shows with ads in them? Not only that, but most of the good/popular shows are "web only." So even though you're paying them good money to have the ability to watch on your TV or mobile device, tough luck.
- MikeKusold 15y ago
  These are the two reasons I didn't renew the Xbox 360 free trial. Why would I pay for ads and not even be able to watch all the shows through my Xbox 360?
pstack 15y ago
Netflix is for archived content, while Hulu Plus is for current-season content. I'm happy with the Netflix model and it's all I use. The problem with Hulu Plus is that there is some non-Plus content that you can't view as a Plus member (because of licensing). Also, they don't have _every_ show. Also, they don't have _every_ network (no CBS, for example - or Sci-Fi either, if I recall). Missing plenty of others. Also, they only have the current season of shows - and sometimes not even the whole season. And you still have advertising. A LOT of advertising. I had a free week of Hulu Plus and the first 40 minute show I watched contained seven full commercials. For a service that I would presumably be paying money for (more money than Netflix costs). I canceled Hulu Plus after that first hour and never used it again. Even at double the price, Netflix would be a ridiculously good deal. My only complaint with them is that they churn through their selection so damn fast. How about they just KEEP South Park and everything else? There's nothing worse than logging in on a lazy Sunday afternoon to find that 20% of your queued content has just vanished, because they only had licenses to stream the content until 5/20/2011.
smackfu 15y ago
I pay $50 a month to my cable company to get TV shows with ads in them. $8 per month is not bad to fill the gaps in Netflix or Amazon Prime.
- bradleyjoyce 15y ago
  Amen! I don't understand the people that have cable and make this argument... it's crazy! For the people that don't have cable, $8 is sure a heck of a lot cheaper than the alternatives!

sjs382 15y ago

It works on an iPad while regular Hulu doesn't. (right?)

eggbrain 15y ago
True, but it seems like a high price to pay simply to watch the latest television shows on your iPad / other iOS devices.
- pavel_lishin 15y ago
  Depends on how much that money is worth to you vs. how much that content is worth to you.
- noodle 15y ago
  you're paying for the immediacy of certain content, instead of having to wait for netflix.
- mike-cardwell 15y ago
  The guy who wrote that article is a millionaire.
  - jason_slack 15y ago
    And that is relavent how? I am sure he got that way by not spending money he deemed as frivolous just to spend money. I am not a millionaire but I spend money on services I deem necessary for me.
    - mike-cardwell 15y ago
      The relevance is obvious. "it seems like a high price" ... "The guy who wrote that article is a millionaire"
- kwis 15y ago
  Hulu also works on TVs. If I didn't love sports, and if an easy-to-use, unified interface wasn't crucial to my wife's acceptance, I could replace my $150+/mo satellite package with about $40/month of netflix, hulu, itunes and amazon.
rksprst 15y ago
Hulu plus works on the iPad.

epi0Bauqu 15y ago

It's about specific content, i.e. current TV shows not available via Netflix or Amazon Prime.

physcab 15y ago

I use both equally. Hulu is great for current content and it seems more like a TV replacement. But the movies on Hulu suck. Netflix has awesome movies. Its TV series is improving, but it will often get a series months after it airs. Theres definitely a place for both services. I only pay for Netflix right now because the Plus offering for Hulu just isn't there yet. A ton of the content isn't available on mobile and the buffering can be terrible at times. Also they claim to keep full series of shows for Plus members, but when I tried it out I couldn't find historical seasons for many popular shows that I had wanted to watch and start from the beginning. So that pretty much killed it for me.

gcb 15y ago
wait. the recent episodes are free to watch anyway, and the archived ones didn't worked for you... so for what exactly are you paying?!
- MatthewPhillips 15y ago
  The ability to watch them on mobile and tv. Hulu is not free on any mobile device or any set-top box, but Hulu Plus is available on those.
- erikpukinskis 15y ago
  Recent episodes are not always free. I was using the free only version until "HuluPlus" episodes started showing up that I wanted to watch. I pay the $8/mo and I watch about 4-5 shows that I have subscribed in my RSS feed. Seems reasonable. I get probably 3-4 episodes per week for $2. Cheap entertainment. And Netflix doesn't work on Linux.

ben1040 15y ago

$8 a month to still have TV shows with ads in them? Not only that, but most of the good/popular shows are "web only." So even though you're paying them good money to have the ability to watch on your TV or mobile device, tough luck.

MikeKusold 15y ago
These are the two reasons I didn't renew the Xbox 360 free trial. Why would I pay for ads and not even be able to watch all the shows through my Xbox 360?

pstack 15y ago

Netflix is for archived content, while Hulu Plus is for current-season content. I'm happy with the Netflix model and it's all I use. The problem with Hulu Plus is that there is some non-Plus content that you can't view as a Plus member (because of licensing). Also, they don't have _every_ show. Also, they don't have _every_ network (no CBS, for example - or Sci-Fi either, if I recall). Missing plenty of others. Also, they only have the current season of shows - and sometimes not even the whole season. And you still have advertising. A LOT of advertising. I had a free week of Hulu Plus and the first 40 minute show I watched contained seven full commercials. For a service that I would presumably be paying money for (more money than Netflix costs). I canceled Hulu Plus after that first hour and never used it again. Even at double the price, Netflix would be a ridiculously good deal. My only complaint with them is that they churn through their selection so damn fast. How about they just KEEP South Park and everything else? There's nothing worse than logging in on a lazy Sunday afternoon to find that 20% of your queued content has just vanished, because they only had licenses to stream the content until 5/20/2011.

smackfu 15y ago

I pay $50 a month to my cable company to get TV shows with ads in them. $8 per month is not bad to fill the gaps in Netflix or Amazon Prime.

bradleyjoyce 15y ago
Amen! I don't understand the people that have cable and make this argument... it's crazy! For the people that don't have cable, $8 is sure a heck of a lot cheaper than the alternatives!