Hulu Debuts Subscription Service

Hulu introduced a subscription service today, offering viewers full seasons of TV programs for a monthly fee of $9.99. Hulu's free service has been cutting back content for months now, with only a handful of the most recent episodes available for any given program. Those free offerings will remain, but customers of Hulu Plus, as it is called, will be able to access more episodes, and view them in 720p and on a plethora of devices, including the iPhone, iPad, PS3, xBox 360, and some Internet TV sets, the New York Times reports.

Those paying $9.99 will still be subject to commercials, however, and Hulu said that it had already cut deals with Nissan and Bud Light for Hulu Plus ad space. The new model is a necessary move for Hulu: though its free-pay advertising model makes money, the site is forced to split earnings among dozens of studios and networks.
(More Hulu stories.)