Hulu has announced that it is the first streaming service to add support for the payment platform Venmo, which has grown in popularity as a fast way to send and receive payments. The new support is available to new customers now, according to the company, which partnered with Venom to add the option. No other streaming services currently offer this support.
Hulu is gearing up to test advertisements that play when the viewer pauses a video, a new report claims. The idea reportedly is being explored by both AT&T and Hulu, the latter of which is said to be prepping the change for a 2019 launch. Hulu already shows advertisements to customers who subscribe to the cheaper monthly plan, but the new alleged test may change when customers see them.
Disney's acquisition of Fox could mean big things for Hulu, not just in terms of content, but also in terms of availability. Unlike Netflix, Hulu is a streaming service that's only available in the United States. When Disney's acquisition of Fox finishes up next year, it'll take a controlling stake in Hulu, and it may look to expand Hulu's availability as a result.
The streaming market is in full bloom and there's no shortage of options to choose from. The industry has experienced major changes in just a handful of years, seeing the launch of services that include live television, cloud-based DVR, offline on-demand content, and a growing body of original shows. What can customers expect rolling into the new year?
Hulu is considering changes to its Live TV product, according to a new report, potentially one day slashing both price and channels to offer "skinnier" bundles. In its present form, Hulu Live TV provides livestreaming access to a relatively small number of networks, these provided alongside on-demand content for a variety of shows. The company may break up the product in the future, though, cutting costs while still offering live access to channels in smaller bundle options.
This week the folks at Caavo revealed a device that'll control ALL your stuff. Not your smart home stuff - this isn't about lights or sensors or anything - this is for your TV and your varied media-output devices. Caavo can connect your TV to your Amazon Fire TV (or better yet NVIDIA SHIELD TV) or Apple TV, set-top boxes of many sorts, gaming consoles like Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and whatever other oddities you've got delivering signal via HDMI.
This week the folks at TiVo revealed a new DVR set-top box that combines antenna-based television with streaming video services. TiVo BOLT OTA, it's called, and watching and recording local TV programming, national news, sports, and entertainment is its game. But it's also able to connect with services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video.
Amid unveiling its 2018 version of the Echo Show, Amazon mentioned that Hulu would be among its early partners supporting the device. The Echo Show, unlike its Echo and Echo Dot siblings, features a display bumped to a 10-inch size in its latest iteration. Users can utilize this screen to retrieve information, such as recipes, as well as video chatting and watching videos.
Hulu has pushed out a design update for its website, adding a cleaner, more modern interface similar to what smart TV and set-top box owners find. The new look reduces the number of clicks users need to perform, breaking content up into large thumbnails and simplified categories. The interface is visible to anyone visiting on a Web browser.
Hulu has released a big update for its Android app, adding new features for Live TV customers specifically, as well as default autoplay on collection clips and the ability to seek during playback. Similar features haven't arrived in the iOS app, though it's possible we'll see an update with them drop in the near future.
Hulu and Discovery have teamed up to offer subscribers access to a slew of new live and on-demand content. The partnership will bring Discovery's portfolio of content to Hulu's platform, including Hulu Live TV, giving customers a total of eight network options. New to Live TV is Investigation Discovery, TLC, Discovery Channel, and more.
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.