Netflix vs Hulu: New price war puts daylight between US on-demand giants
US on-demand pioneer Hulu has responded to Netflix’s recent price hike, by slashing the cost of its most popular monthly plan.
The ad-supported plan, which offers access to a massive range of content from US broadcast and cable networks, is now just $5.99 a month. That’s down $2 (or 25%) from the previous price of $7.99. The cost of the commercial free plan remains at $11.99 per month.
Netflix upset many customers earlier this month by adding $2 to its most popular plan in the United States. That Standard plan, which offers HD content across two screens simultaneously, is now $12.99 a month, up from $10.99.
The Premium plan, which offers 4K HDR video where available is $15.99, up from $13.99. The Basic plan only went up $1, from $7.99 to $8.99.
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The decision came after Netflix spent $13 billion in 2018 on its original TV shows and movies. That spending will not slow down in 2019. The company has, however, faced criticism for passing that cost onto customers when there’s a perceived lack of quality control.
However, its those original shows give Netflix separation from Hulu, although the latter does have some critically acclaimed titles of its own, such as A Handmaid’s Tale and Castle Rock.
However, it isn’t all good news for Hulu fans. The company is bolstering the price of its Live TV streaming service from $39.99 to $44.99. Meanwhile the ad-free version of that service is going up $7, from $43.99 to $50.99 a month.
In related live TV streaming news, Google’s YouTube TV platform went nationwide on Wednesday, following a launch in limited markets over the last year or so. The roll out comes in time for the Super Bowl, which takes place on Sunday February 3.
Will the prices going in opposite directions encourage you to drop Netflix and give Hulu another shot at your monthly subs? Let us know @TrustedReviews on Twitter.