13 May, 2017
Does Hulu with Live TV (Beta) encourage you to cut the cable cord? Hulu says the service is in beta at the moment. The service also includes current-season eps of broadcast shows, an ever-growing library of TV series and movies, and a stable of originals that Hulu is investing in heavily. It isn't just the new "Hulu with Live TV" app-it's the new Hulu app.
It's worthy of note that unlike rivals such as Sling, AT&T DirecTV Now, YouTube and others, Hulu is under the umbrella of TV programmers, which marks the first time that TV programmers are offering a pay TV service directly to consumers. Subscribers can pay more for no commercials, more cloud DVR capacity, and more than two simultaneous streams. The same inventory will be made available through Hulu's cloud DVR experience. In total, over 50 channels will be available (dependent on your location). The Food Network, FOX Business, Lifetime, Cartoon Network, FX, and ESPN are just a few channels that come with the base plan. But in New York City, they offer access to all four local channels.
"By bringing together thousands of live, on-demand and library shows and movies - and serving them up in a uniquely personalized way - Hulu can now be a viewer's primary source of television".
If available in the subscriber's market, Hulu with Live TV can follow MLB, MLS, NBA, NCAA, NFL, and National Hockey League sports games and record them as they're played. They have NBC, CBS, FOX and ABC onboard as well as their local affiliates. Showtime can also be added for another $8.99.
For those who don't wanna subscribe to Hulu's new live TV service, you'll also gain access to the new UI on the Xbox One, Apple TV, and Android devices. Support for more devices, including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire TV Sticks, and Samsung Smart TVs will be added soon.
Hulu with Live TV is launching today, but this market is already crowded with similar services.
Hulu counters this with a couple of add-on features: for an extra $14.99 per month you can get Enhanced Cloud DVR, which includes 200 hours of recording storage and lets you fast-forward through ads on those shows. It offers access to over 50 broadcast and cable TV channels for cord and satellite TV cutters, for the starting price of $39.99 a month. The company is, however, offering a good opportunity to try the service with a free one-month trial for new subscribers, right over here.
Still, that's twice as much as Sling TV ($20) starts at, though that package only claims "more than 20" channels.
If you have multiple devices, you also will be able to watch streams across them all at the same time.