Ever since the emergence of Netflix as an internet content provider, there have been questions as to when a true competitor might rise up and play Pepsi to the streaming industry’s Coke. Many have speculated that Hulu would be just the one to get the job done; however, it really remains a distant threat as its library simply mirrors television due to the insistence of advertisements. With that being said, today’s news is that the company has surpassed 2 million subscribers.
The news came in the form of a corporate blog post from Hulu about how they would not be charging advertisers anymore if their commercial is not viewed in its entirety. The following is the excerpt from the posting by JP Colaco.
The original Hulu service continues to ramp aggressively both in users and content while Hulu Plus, our US subscription service, passed more than 2 million paid subscribers in Q1 of this year. Based on our research, Hulu Plus has achieved 2 million paying subscribers faster than any video subscription service – online or offline – in US history.
Let us take a quick look at why 2 million subscribers have felt the need to join up with Hulu Plus. The entertainment industry is in a transitional phase when it comes to the living room as many are migrating to smart television sets or set-top boxes that enable the internet distribution of media. Consumers like having the extra options that go to outside of simple on-demand offerings, and such a scenario involving Hulu’s content can only be felt when one subscribes to Plus. Even if a consumer wanted to watch what is generally considered to be free through the service, a paid subscription is necessary to use any platforms outside of a computer.
Also, mobile media consumption is seeing huge growth right now as the tablet and smart phone industries continue to thrive. With that being said, it is only $8 a month to obtain in demand media by legal means which many see as ‘worth it.’ On the flip side, the mandatory advertisements are still considered by some to be a bit greedy to say the least, and many suspect that had Hulu ditched the ads for the Plus brand out of the gate the subscriber totals would have already surpassed the 10 million mark.