There have been rumors of a paid version of Hulu floating around for some time now, and today the service finally came to the light. Titled "Hulu Plus," the ad-supported, premium subscription service will cost users $9.99 a month and will launch in the coming months. The service will provide access to HD streams of full season runs of shows from ABC, NBC, and Fox. The biggest news seems to be the multitude of platforms that will support Hulu Plus, which includes PCs, iPad, iPhone, some Samsung Blu-Ray players, and PlayStation 3s. Right now the service is only available to Hulu beta members (an invite to the beta can be requested here). An app will be made available to owners of an iPad, iPhone 3GS, or iPhone 4 even without a subscription to the service, providing a few episodes for free so that users can get a feel for what using Hulu Plus is like.
Hulu Plus will offer programs from over 100 content providers and include current and classic episodes. Some of the 45 programs that customers will have access to include Glee, The Office, Modern Family, and 30 Rock. The shows will be streamed at a resolution of 720p but can be downgraded if bandwidth is limited. The service will be coming to more TVs and Blu-Ray players from manufacturers like Sony and Vizio. Hulu also said that Xbox 360 owners will be able to access Hulu Plus in early 2011.
The fact that we'll have access to Hulu on iPhones and iPads soon is huge news, especially when you consider that Netflix can also be used on the same devices. For entertainment on the go, Hulu and Netflix will be a combination that will be hard to beat. With Hulu Plus and a Netflix subscription at home, you may finally be able to cut the cable company out of your life (if you aren't addicted to live sports, that is). Would any of you consider picking up a Hulu Plus subscription for $9.99 a month?
Via TechCrunch
