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.
Hulu and Viacom have struck an on-demand content deal that brings a variety of shows to the streaming service, including Daria, My Super Sweet 16, and more. As well, Hulu has announced that it is getting 11 Nickelodeon shows under this agreement, plus more than 20 movies. The company is also bringing three kid-friendly shows back to its streaming platform.
Hulu has detailed new features that will be coming to its Android and iOS apps next week. According to the company, it has experienced a huge increase in the number of subscribers who are watching shows using their mobile device instead of a television. This new update improves the experience for them, helping viewers scrub through videos, get directly to live channels, and more.
In the year since Hulu Live TV launched, we've slowly been seeing Hulu expand the service to more devices and flesh it out with additional features. Though Hulu Live TV probably could have used a little more time in the oven before release, these days it's shaping up to be a fairly solid service. It's getting better today with the introduction of a new guide, which is going live on a number of device.
During an event in New York today, Hulu announced plans to offer offline videos via a "downloadable content experience." This is described as a new feature offering opportunities to advertisers, the end result being the option for users to download TV shows and movies for offline viewing. Netflix previously launched its own downloading feature available for select videos.
Want to watch the next season of Westworld but don't want to pay premium for an HBO subscription? If so, Hulu's latest deal will no doubt be appealing. For a short time, the streaming service is offering its customers HBO as an add-on service for about one-third its normal monthly rate, making it about the same price as a fancy coffee. The slashed rate is temporary, though.
Spotify and Hulu are offering a combined subscription, the awkwardly-named but cash saving Spotify Premium, Now with Hulu. Launching today for existing Spotify Premium subscribers, with broader availability later in the year, the new combined subscription could save you $4 per month versus buying the plans separately.
Hulu has expanded device support for its new app, the one containing access to both its on-demand content and its live television channels. The app started arriving several months ago for other platforms and is now available for all of the most commonly used streaming devices. This time around, the company has launched Live TV support for certain LG smart TVs, eliminating the need to use a separate streaming stick or set-top box.
Streaming seems to be the way to go these days. Analysts expect that the market would soon overtake and devour traditional TV services, becoming the be-all and end-all of video entertainment at home and on the go. These services, some of them smaller than the network giants that run cable and live TV, often compete on more than just the licensed content they can deliver to their subscribers. They compete, sometimes even more viciously, over original shows that none of their competitors will be able to broadcast. We take a look at some of today’s streaming services to check which ones offer the best selection of original content.