When the Hulu streaming video web site launched, one of its big attractions was that people could watch both classic and current episodes from a wide variety of TV series with not nearly as many ads placed in between episode acts. However, Hulu"s biggest rival Netflix, lets its uses access a large number of TV shows for one monthly fee and with no ads at all. Now it looks like Hulu is at least considering creating a version of its service that will do away with its ads.
GigaOM reports, that according to Twitter messages sent by Hulu"s support group, "We"re currently an ad-supported service but looking into the option of a higher price ad-free version." Hulu currently offers a $7.99 a month premium service, Hulu Plus. However, subscribers to that service still have to deal with ads that run in between the acts of the TV episodes. Instead, the premium service allows its users to access the full season of the most recent TV shows along with Hulu Plus exclusive shows. It also allows users to watch Hulu videos from more devices besides the PC, including tablets, smartphones, game consoles, set top boxes and more.
If Hulu does decide to launch a totally ad free version of its service, it will likely be much more of a competitor to Netflix. That company is currently dealing with the fallout caused by its recent decision to raise the prices of its streaming and DVD mail order rental subscriptions by 60 percent.