Hulu has had an ad-free option for most of it's life, although I think for a handful of videos the rights situation still required them to still show at least one ad for a movie or episode of a show
Every time I’ve looked it’s fewer shows, though - last I checked it was only 3. They were popular ones but nothing I had any interest in, so I switched from Netflix (I was done waiting for them to let me turn off that horrid auto-preview misfeature) and I have never once seen an ad on Hulu.
I was looking at using Hulu Plus to augment my Netflix subscription, but when I found out that even the paid version had commercials I changed my mind.
At one point they were experimenting with a "Watch one long commercial at the beginning then no interruptions" thing, which was fantastic, but I guess they nixed that, because I haven't seen it the last few times I've been on Hulu.
Hulu was amazing when it launched, but it's gone downhill ever since. The last couple of times I've tried it, they show more commercials than I'd see just watching the show live or on-demand. Plus it was a 1:1 relationship so if a show had 10 commercials, it was the same one repeated 10 times.
Even if it was a free service, I can't justify using it over literally any other streaming option out there, including on-demand where you can't fast forward through commercials.
"In response to feedback from our viewers, we started offering a commercial free experience on Hulu. For a small number of shows, however, we have not obtained the rights to stream commercial free and they are not included in our No Commercials plan. You can still easily access these shows with a short commercial before and after each episode with no interruptions during the episode. Specific shows that still have commercials accessible through the No Commercials plan will be noted throughout the signup, switching and playback experience. While the list of shows may change, they are currently: Grey’s Anatomy, Once Upon a Time, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Scandal, Grimm, New Girl, and How To Get Away With Murder."
It's seven shows, and even on those the ads are only at the beginning and end they don't interrupt the show. I say we cut them some slack.
We haven't had broadcast TV in our home for 10 years, and haven't had an actual TV for about 7 years. It's been Netflix and Hulu, mostly. Hulu's commercials have grown more intrusive lately, so Hulu may be on the chopping block very soon.
A small number of shows are not included in our No Commercials Add-on. You can still watch these shows, however, they will play with a short commercial before and after each episode.
While the list of shows may change, they are currently: Grey’s Anatomy, Once Upon a Time, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Scandal, Grimm, New Girl, and How To Get Away With Murder.
And then on top of that it's a wasteland content-wise as you stated.
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