Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

Hulu Adds (Mostly) Ad-Free Subscription Service

Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins chalked up the exceptions to rights held by studios on select series. “They have other commitments that they couldn’t free them up for a complete commercial-free offering,” he said, adding that the service will clearly delineate the exceptions to users before they stream those series.

Other series that will have pre-roll include four ABC series: “How to Get Away with Murder,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Once Upon a Time,” “Agents of SHIELD,” and an NBC series, “Grimm.”

Hulu is making the move in response to subscriber complaints voiced in various forms of consumer research about having to pay yet still watch ads. Earlier this month, a Parks Associates survey found that half of Hulu subscribers have canceled service over the past 12 months, compared to just 9% for Netflix over the same span.

The new subscription option brings Hulu in line with its commercial-free rivals Netflix, which remains several dollars cheaper than Hulu depending on which rate its own subscribers pay, and Amazon Prime, which charges $99 per year for access to its content library in addition to free two-day shipping.

From the article "Hulu Adds (Mostly) Ad-Free Subscription Service" by Andrew Wallenstein. 

Previously In The News

Amazon Touts JustWatch Report Saying It Beat Netflix in Q2 Engagement ... 'Take Our Market Share Data With a Grain of Salt,' Responds JustWatch's Founder

Amazon doesn't publicly disclose how many Amazon Prime members it is the U.S., or globally for that matter. But late last year, research company Parks Associates published data suggesting that Prime V...

Smart Lighting Adoption Surges Among US Internet Households

New research from Parks Associates reveals a surge in smart lighting adoption among US internet households, with 13% using smart light bulbs and 6% employing smart lighting control systems. Parks A...

Are Consumers Right to Fear Connected Home Products?

According to a recent whitepaper by Parks Associates, “72 percent of smart home product owners are concerned with the security of personal data collected by their devices.” From the article, "Are C...

Christmas in July: Cheers to a Healthy New Year!

Currently, 51 percent of U.S. households have at least one connected health device, according to Parks Associates. Consumer awareness about the shift towards care in the home is growing and a new buzz...