The live streaming subscription Hulu was once dubbed the Netflix Killer. While the platform didn’t manage to overcome Netflix, it has held its own against its primary live streaming rival. It continues to offer programming that is on par or even better than the programs found on Netflix. Its most recent acquisition, however, could put Hulu ahead of Netflix and other startup services like Sling. While it will enjoy reaping the dividends of its partnerships with networks like CBS, Hulu will have to extend some of the profits to these entities.
The Hulu Partnership with CBS
CBS is one of the few networks that proverbially dragged its feet in making its programming available to live streaming services. In fact, it created its own live streaming service, CBS All Access, on which it makes available its foremost programs like NCIS. Still, CBS recognizes the lucrativeness that it can enjoy by making other network programs available on services like Hulu. It recently agreed to a partnership with Hulu that would allow CBS to reap $3 a month per subscriber, to begin with, and then later $4 a month for each person that subscribes to Hulu’s service.
This partnership would allow Hulu to broadcast some of CBS’s most popular lineups as well as other CBS-owned channels like the CBS Sports Network and Pop. This deal could also give Hulu access to programming on the Smithsonian Channel and the CW Network, both of which are also owned by CBS.
This package deal could give CBS a leg-up on its competition like NBC, the Disney Channel, and other networks that continue to carve out more than their fair share of the TV market.
By making its programming available through the likes of Hulu, the network could reach a broader audience and in return recruit more people to watch its daily programming lineup, which is available without a live streaming or cable TV subscription.
Hulu also stands to make money from the deal, although it could cost it in the beginning. It also could propel Hulu past rivals like Netflix, DirectTV, and other live streaming services.
The Promise of Hulu’s Acquisition of The Golden Girls
Hulu recently announced that it had acquired the live streaming rights to NBC’s much beloved 1980s series The Golden Girls. Starring iconic actresses Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, Estelle Getty, and Betty White, The Golden Girls follows the lives of four Miami retirees as they rebuild their lives after widowhood and divorce.
The Golden Girls enjoyed high ratings with audiences when it was broadcast on NBC more than 30 years ago. Surprisingly, it still remains an audience favorite with many people watching it on cable TV channels like WE, Lifetime, and TVLand.
However, people who do not have cable have been frustrated that they could not watch episodes of this beloved series on live streaming services like Hulu. Fortunately for those individuals, Hulu acquired the rights to all 180 episodes of the series and will start broadcasting them on February 13.
Access to the show will not mean that Hulu users will have to pay a higher rate. They can get access to the episodes for the same price of $8.99 per month for a basic subscription.
Live streaming services like Hulu have helped people cut the proverbial cord and cancel their cable TV subscriptions. Nevertheless, a lack of cable TV service means that people may not have access to On Demand programming like CBS shows as well as old favorites like The Golden Girls.
Hulu continues to acquire shows that people without cable TV want to watch. Its smart business moves could help it unseat Netflix as the favorite U.S. live streaming service today.
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