Hulu to Raise Live TV Subscription Price

As the #StreamingWars continue to rage on, Hulu is making a substantial pricing increase to its live television package. Monday afternoon, the streaming provider sent out an e-mail to subscribers of its Hulu + Live TV package, informing them of an 18-percent price increase on December 18th. Instead of the base $54.99 per month pricing, customers will now be charged $64.99 from December onward.

The platform says the 18th is when the pricing takes effect, so any billings on or after the date will reflect the new pricing. "As we continue to refine the Hulu + Live TV experience, we're reaching out to let you know the price of your Hulu + Live TV plan will increase from $54.99/month to $64.99/month on Friday, December 18, 2020," the streamer's e-mail reads.

It adds, "Hulu + Live TV continues to be the only live TV streaming service that offers an entire on-demand streaming library - including more than 70,000 TV episodes and movies, and award-winning Hulu Originals - along with more than 65 live news, sports and entertainment channels, all in one place."

In Disney's Q4 earnings call last week, CEO Bob Chapek praised Hulu + Live TV, applauding it for its growth since he took over the reins to the company earlier this year.

"We've got a product that we're really excited about and has experienced some rapid growth and that's Hulu + Live TV," Chapek told investors. "It really gives the utility that consumers might normally find from the cable or satellite subscriber and be able to get it over-the-top directly to their homes."

The executive touted the service on the call, revealing that it's even what he uses for his own personal television needs.

"I'm a personal big fan of it," he said. "I use it. And it's really slick. It's very elegant, and it really is a big solution provider. It's really the complete solution, I think. So we're excited about that in terms of solving a consumer need for those consumers as you mentioned that have all walked away from that particular way of distributing and receiving content."

Hulu's new pricing puts it at the same price as two other major streaming providers — YouTubeTV and fuboTV. There currently are cheaper plans on the market available through services like Sling or Philo, though channel and content availability is drastically reduced. Philo's cheapest plans start at $20 per month for live television.

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