Sorry TV Fans, Hulu Announces No More Free Streaming

In a move that is sure to provoke ire and consternation among those who enjoy watching shows for free online (i.e. the vast majority of Americans), Hulu has announced that it will shutter its popular free video streaming service. In as soon as a few days, Hulu users will be forced to look elsewhere for online video offerings or pay for a subscription plan, though they will be offered free trials to soften the blow.

Hulu will instead focus on original content and exclusive movie and TV acquisitions that will be available ad-free for $8 or $12 a month, depending on your subscription, The Hollywood Reporter states. It is also preparing to launch a live TV service next year. Hulu has been steadily de-emphasizing its free content offerings, which used to be a core product in recent years as it moves to a subscription-based strategy.

Hulu is owned by Walt Disney, 21st Century Fox, Comcast, and Time Warner and is seen as a bulwark against Netflix, which currently dominates the landscape of subscription content streaming.

Luckily, under the auspices of a business deal signed with Yahoo, some of Hulu’s NBC, ABC, and Fox shows will move to a new TV-watching site called Yahoo View, which will use Hulu’s video player and advertising deals. Yahoo View will reportedly offer the thousands of episodes of anime, sitcoms, and Korean dramas that are Hulu mainstays, according to Ars Technica.

Yahoo View will offer free streaming of the five most recent episodes of NBC, ABC, and Fox shows, a scheme which is known as “rolling five.”