Audio Video News

Hulu, the streaming video service launched in 2007, plans to stop offering free, ad-supported movies and TV programs but will continue to offer no-cost content via Comcast, Yahoo! View, and other distribution partners, according to The Hollywood Reporter (THR).

The service, which is owned by Disney, 21st Century Fox, and NBCUniversal, will start notifying subscribers of the change in the coming days, and members who have been enjoying free content will be offered free trials of a paid Hulu subscription, THR reported.

From the report:

Hulu launched in 2007 with a library of free TV shows and clips, a move considered revolutionary at a time when there was little traditional-length video on the internet. But the company…has evolved considerably over the years as the streaming landscape has become increasingly competitive led by behemoth Netflix. First, Hulu launched a subscription tier with limited advertising in 2010, then last fall it went ad-free with a higher-priced subscription tier, and it is now prepping the launch of a live TV service next year. Hulu currently has 12 million subscribers.

Meanwhile, its free service has become a low trafficked product. That could be because Hulu has de-emphasized its free content. Navigating to the homepage without logging in currently redirects to a page that encourages people to sign up for a free trial. It takes significant work to find the free videos available behind that landing page, though they are available.

"For the past couple years, we've been focused on building a subscription service that provides the deepest, most personalized content experience possible to our viewers," says Ben Smith, Hulu senior vp and head of experience. "As we have continued to enhance that offering with new originals, exclusive acquisitions and movies, the free service became very limited and no longer aligned with the Hulu experience or content strategy."

Most of Hulu's free content has been fairly limited, restricted to what's known as the "rolling five," or the five most recent episodes of a current show—content that typically becomes available eight days after it airs and is usually also available for free on broadcast networks' websites…

But fans of Hulu's free TV service shouldn't worry too much. The company will continue to offer its library of no-cost content via its distribution partners, which include Comcast. Hulu has, in fact, struck an expanded distribution deal with Yahoo for the launch of streaming TV hub Yahoo View.

Read the full article here.