Spotify adds Showtime to its student Hulu bundle

As it stands, Spotify's student plan is a pretty good deal. Last year, Spotify and Hulu teamed up to offer subscriptions to both services to students for $4.99 per month. Today, Spotify decided to sweeten the deal further by announcing an upgrade to that plan that tosses Showtime in the mix.

The timing, obviously, is meant to capitalize on students returning to school for fall semester, though it's probably safe to assume that a healthy of those students already have subscriptions to Spotify. The addition of Showtime isn't going to raise the monthly cost of Spotify's student plan, which still clocks in at $4.99.

That Showtime subscription, of course, means access to the network's on-demand library, but it also gives users access to Showtime's east and west coast live feeds. That's a nice perk that we don't always see with these on-demand network subscriptions. Showtime's on-demand content is also offered ad-free, so that's a happy bonus when you consider that the Hulu subscription you get through this plan still serves ads as you watch.

New users can sign up for this plan over at Spotify's student site, but existing users will want to visit there as well to upgrade their accounts. If you're signing up for the first time, you'll need to create separate Spotify, Showtime, and Hulu accounts when you begin your subscription, and it should be noted that if you already have a subscription to some or all of these services, you'll need to cancel them before you sign up for Spotify's student plan. New subscribers can also get their first three months for $0.99.

So, just like that, Spotify's student plan becomes a lot more attractive at a time when the company is facing increased competition from Apple and Google. It'll be interesting to see if those companies respond by beefing up their own student offerings, so we'll keep an eye out for any activity regarding that.