Hulu Announces End to Free TV Service, Plans to Begin Livestreaming in 2017

Hulu will eliminate unpaid streaming from its platform in the coming days, but plans to begin providing livestreaming in 2017.

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The time of free television streaming through Hulu is coming to a close, as the streaming service looks to eliminate unpaid streaming from its platform in the coming days. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Hulu will contact customers this week to alert them of the change, and offer a free trial of their now paid-only subscription services.

In its nine years of existence, Hulu has also provided paid levels of access to TV shows and movies, one with limited ads and another that was totally free of advertisements. The Hollywood Reporter noted that Hulu also plans to begin providing livestreaming in 2017.

Though this change in service offerings may not be that much of a downer for Hulu subscribers, since not that many people use the free streaming option to begin with, according to the Hollywood Reporter. This is in large part because Hulu has since been designed to shift user focus toward paid streaming shows. Ben Smith, Hulu's Senior Vice President and Head of Experience told the Hollywood Reporter:

"For the past couple years, we've been focused on building a subscription service that provides the deepest, most personalized content experience possible to our viewers. As we have continued to enhance that offering with new originals, exclusive acquisitions, and movies, the free service became very limited and no longer aligned with the Hulu experience or content strategy."

And really, Hulu's collection of free shows and movies aren't truly going anywhere—they'll be available through Hulu's many partners, one of which is Comcast, according to the Hollywood Reporter

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