Introducing #hulu's new commercial-free option. Limited Commercials or No Commercials… It’s up to you.https://t.co/KNzleEhx0I
— Hulu (@hulu) September 2, 2015
Hulu has long been an also-ran to online streaming services such as Netflix and HBO Go. It’s even lower down than Amazon Instant, which has fewer options to watch for five to seven hours at a time, but doesn’t interrupt your programming with commercials for chips, cars, and laptops every seven minutes until you want to kick your TV in anger. But that’s all about to change. Hulu is going commercial-free! Hulu is going to ruin all our lives!
Vulture reports that the commercial-free upgrade will cost you an extra four dollars a month and will raise the price you pay for Hulu from $7.99 to $11.99 per month. And, apparently, Hulu doesn’t think many people will go for the commercial-free option. But they’re wrong. Dead wrong. I am about to upgrade right now and then I’m going to watch the first season of Empire again. Because I can do so with greater economy than when I did so with commercials for chewing gum!
Unfortunately, not all of your shows will be available ad-free:
As a sign of how difficult it is to line this stuff up, Hulu’s ad-free version comes with one small asterisk. Seven Hulu shows — “New Girl,” “Scandal,” “How to Get Away With Murder,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Once Upon a Time,” “Agents of Shield” and “Grimm” — will be what Hulu is referring to internally as “exception shows,” which means they will run with ads even on the ad-free version.
But don’t lose hope! The commercials for these shows will last only 45 seconds and will not be played during the shows. Instead, they’ll be played right before and right after, making them much easier to take. And, as reported earlier this week, Hulu’s going to be bringing you a lot of original content, as well as the films that are on the way as a part of the EPIX deal. It’s like the island of misfit toys; Except for Ashley Judd thrillers!
