Hulu has heard the cries of their subscribers and has introduced a commercial-free option to rival streaming sites Netflix and Amazon.
Hulu announced on Wednesday that viewers can now sign up to watch Hulu commercial free for $11.99 per month or update their accounts and pay an extra $4 per month. The streaming service will retain its limited commercial option for the original $7.99 per month.
"At Hulu, we pride ourselves on listening to our customers and giving them the best possible experience," Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins said in a statement. "Many of our customers have asked us for a commercial free option, and so today we are excited to introduce just that. Providing more choice for consumers is fundamental to the Hulu experience, in addition to an array of choices in content and devices, our customers can now choose to watch with or without commercials."
Unfortunately, the commercial-free option won't be available for all of Hulu's programming, according to BuzzFeed. Shonda Rhimes' trio of shows ("Grey's Anatomy," "Scandal" and "How to Get Away with Murder") will continue to have limited commercial interruption as well as NBC's "Grimm," Fox's "New Girl" and ABC's "Once Upon a Time," and "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."
To compete against streaming heavyweights Netflix and Amazon, Hulu has drastically expanded the content they have available. They recently announced a deal with EPIX to provide hit movies from Lionsgate, MGM and Paramount studios.
Their library of television shows also continues to expand with the complete series of "Seinfeld" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" as well as current hits from network and cable such as "Empire," "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and "Deadliest Catch."
Hulu will begin to introduce more original programming over the next year including the event series "11/22/63" from Stephen King and J.J. Abrams, the drama series "The Way" from "Parenthood" creator Jason Katims, and the revival of "The Mindy Project." They join Hulu shows "The Hotwives of Las Vegas" and "Difficult People."
