Advertisements could be no more on Hulu with looming premium subscription

Video and music streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Spotify, and Apple Music all have something in common. None of them feature advertisements along with the content. Subscriptions are meant to unlock access to exclusive content and offer a high-end, ad-free experience where users get what they want. Hulu has operated both its free and paid tiers with ads attached to content, especially irking customers that are paying $7.99 per month. The amount of Hulu subscribers sits at 9 million and ads could be what is preventing that number from booming.

With Project NOAH, that could change and provide Hulu with millions of additional subscribers at a quicker pace.

The Wall Street Journal was informed by an anonymous tipster that Hulu is working on a premium subscription that will nix ads completely. Project NOAH, which stands for “NO Ads Hulu,” would cost a few more dollars than its current paid offering, somewhere between $12 and $14. So, for paying at least $5 extra, ads on Hulu will go away. And the money coming in from new subscribers could allow Hulu to spend on securing deals and gaining exclusive rights to content. Hulu recently spent north of $120 million to be the digital home of Seinfeld.

Deciding whether or not Project NOAH becomes official is up to its owners. Comcast, 21st Century Fox, and The Walt Disney Company are all co-owners of the video streaming service through their television subsidiaries. Their long histories in television are not very helpful for Project NOAH. Those companies are reportedly not feeling enthusiastic about Project NOAH since it could lead to binge-watching without any presence of a sponsor. Hulu, in a way, is still operating like a television network with ads and Project NOAH would cut away ad revenue.

Source: The Wall Street Journal
Via: Engadget

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