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Hulu will soon kill its free, ad-supported TV service, focusing its efforts on its paid subscriptions. But you’ll still be able to watch free TV online.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hulu will start telling customers about the death of free TV in the coming days. Those who have been using the free service will be given the option to try a free trial of the paid subscription.
Don’t cry too much for Hulu’s free content, however, because Yahoo conveniently announced the launch of Yahoo View this morning, which will host, among other things, Hulu’s free content. (It’s not the only partner, however — other distribution partners, like Comcast, will also host some of Hulu’s free stuff.)
Yahoo View “will offer thousands of TV, anime, Korean drama and movies including full episodes, films, and clips for free,” according to a press release. Interestingly, it will also be connected to Tumblr, Yahoo’s struggling social platform, and will allow viewers to “browse photos and GIFs from the passionate Tumblr fandom.”
As for Hulu, the company says the free model simply isn’t working anymore.
“[T]he free service became very limited and no longer aligned with the Hulu experience or content strategy,” Ben Smith, Hulu’s senior vice president and head of experience, told the Hollywood Reporter. Ah, yes. What was that sound I just heard? The cha-ching of a cash register?