Disney ruining Hulu?

I have been with Hulu for almost a decade, but recently decided to cancel. I understand losing content in the streaming wars, but I don't understand pulling content you own.

The very first move was pulling the Simpsons to bring exclusively to DisneyPlus. Sorry, but I don't give a damn about Disney plus. I am not a Star Wars fan and I have already seen all of the Marvel movies, except Captain Marvel and the first Thor. I don't have kids and even when I was a kid, I never cared much for kid films.

I was actually in the process of binge watching the Simpsons when it was pulled. Recently I had decided to watch a series I had never seen, but had heard of for years called, My so called life. It's an ABC show(owned by Disney). Right after I add the show to my watch list, I see the show is expiring. It has now left Hulu and I never watched all the episodes. What bothers me more than them pulling this particular show, is that there was basically no reason to pull it. My guess is, it's going to Disney's new streaming service.

Over the last couple of months it has been revealed that Seinfeld will be leaving Hulu for Netflix. This was another show that I was binge watching. Another show that I have been watching is South Park. Now I read today that South Park is leaving Hulu to become part of HBOMax.

I still have no idea why Disney refuses to let any streaming service have Alias. The only way to watch, is to buy. I have already watched the Hulu exclusives from my list and almost every single movie Hulu gets is also streaming on Amazon. Since I have Amazon, Netflix and HBO streaming and cable, it made the most sense to drop Hulu.

The thing is, I would still probably have Hulu if the Simpsons were on it. After losing South Park and Seinfeld, I think it would be in Hulu's best interest to put the Simpsons back on the service. But, we all know that won't happen.

 

not being a streaming person at all, i was wondering how many possibilities for streaming are out there, seems like there are about a million.

which leads me to........

if you subscribe to all, or even a few of, these streaming services, are you not spending just as much as you would on cable....for less content in the long run?

please correct me if i'm wrong, and explain to me how.

thanks

 

Yep, Disney is pulling content from all over the place. It's akin to their longstanding 'vault' strategy updated with Disney+ streaming in mind. Don't expect to be able to get physical media alternatives in the longrun. If I already didn't give a fig about Disney+, it would be just these types of heavy handed tactics that would get me to cancel their service.

 

No, you are not wrong. I've commented in the past that this sort of thing would happen after Netflix showed the way, and it has come to pass. But I also think it's not sustainable in the longrun and that after a shakeout period (a few years perhaps?), there will be market consolidation of maybe a handful of major players, the rest being either niche or becoming production houses for original content creation to be sold to the major players.

 

the cheapskate streaming guide
option 1 rotate
option 2 free trial and watch as much as you can then cancel
option 3 borrow a password from a relative/friend

 

You probably would be paying just as much as cable. However, I don't see how cable could have more content than if you subscribed to all major streaming services. I watch a couple houses (that have dogs) and they have cable. It doesn't seem like anything is ever on except M*A*S*H or the guy trying to sell me male enhancement potion.

 

if you stream Pluto (free) u basically have your own cable network

 

There are plent of free options if you don't mind commercials. I use Crackle, Tubi, Pluto and sometimes NBC's app.
Now that I have cancled Hulu, I am thinking of maybe getting Night Flight or Quello again. I have youtube tv in place of cable. I can actually stream the Simpsons from there.

I think HBO Max might be a bigger threat than Disney is expecting. I know that they will be adding content from TBS and the cartoon network in addition to HBO shows and having a rather large library of Warner movies. Seeing as how Mel Gibson and Clint Eastwood have a large portion of their filmography with Warner, I think there will be quite a bit of quality content. And the service will have shows for kids like the Flintsones and Jetsons. I am not sure what else because they haven't listed what all will be available when that service launches in May.

If they really are digging out old HBO shows like I have read, that may mean we can see shows like The Hitcher, Dream On, First and Ten, the Larry Sanders Show. Tales from the Crypt and more.

 

Disney+ is $4.99/month
Hulu is $5.99 for basic with annoying commercials and $11.99/month without.

I, for one, am happy Disney is taking their content back and will gladly pay for it. And cancel my Hulu subscription in the process.

 

So you agree, Disney is ruining Hulu?

 

It really isn't "taking their content back" - Disney has full control over Hulu at the moment. Buying Fox gave them a 60% stake, after which Warner sold their 10% back right away, and the rest, Comcast's share, is being sold to Disney within the next few years as part of a long-term agreement but they've given up all control as part of it. The current business strategy seems to be that Disney+ will be exclusively kid and family stuff offered cheap (at least at first) to give them a leg up in the market and that Hulu will be premium adult-oriented content (similar to what HBO is mainly known for), Fox acquisitions they wouldn't put the Disney branding on (think Fight Club and Family Guy), and live TV service. They're also offering bundle deals with both services.
I think it's currently in a transition period, once Disney+ launches and finds its footing I think we'll see what Hulu is actually going to be like going forward. I have the No Commercials + Live TV plan and have been generally happy with it, especially because of DVR service and all the cable-type VOD content you don't get from normal Hulu, but I have noticed a lot of the acquired content I watch does seem to be headed towards HBO Max. 2020 is definitely going to be a banner year for the streaming wars and it'll be interesting to see what radical moves and outrageously lucrative deals get made in order to secure the market.

 

I have been a streaming customer of Hulu and ESPN+. Once the Disney bundle is available on Nov. 12, I'll get Hulu, ESPN+, and the Disney content for what I was paying for those two alone. For me, it's a win. Disney will also be streaming Pixar and National Geographic content.

 

What we are witnessing is the transition to paying close to what you would pay for cable when you want to watch different content on different services. For years, people complained that cable companies wouldn't offer a la carte channel selection, only packages. Cable was never truly one-stop shopping. Streaming is now going the same way, only you have to order through separate services rather than getting bundles from the same provider.

And you still have to pay for channels that you don't want. Obviously my rant is not pointed at free ad-based services, if that needs saying.

 

this seems like a good enough place to ask this:

is there a comprehensive list anywhere that tells you exactly how many different streaming services there are along with their cost?

 

Key difference from cable being no hardware and no contracts - you could only pay for one service at a time if you want, switch to a different one every month and never pay more than $15 maximum. I do think that having more than 3 major non-niche ones is unsustainable and eventually things will consolidate once they get a chance to duke it out but at the end of the day for us the audience I think it just means a lot more stuff being made that wouldn't otherwise in the name of trying to fight off the competition.

 

Good point, but then you are just paying for convenience if you choose to pay extra to have all services at once, which is certainly an individual choice. I wouldn't personally want to be bothered with neverending juggling of services, but that's great if it works for some people.

I'm more bothered by the lack of competition in broadband in most areas of the country. I know that there is very, very slow progress being made in this regard, and competition has hit some highly populated urban centers, but a great number of us have to pay tribute to one monopoly for high-speed broadband, and it is usually the cable company. This is why there is a large group of people who have not cut the cable cord, because for them, there is no option BUT the cord for broadband.

 

Exactly. We are in a period of disruption.

Eventually winners will emerge and consolidation will occur putting more content under less umbrellas. In the meantime this competition will ultimately lead to innovation and a better product for consumers.

Be patient and stay away from BetaMax.

 

Which service offers all the old SNL episodes complete with their music segments intact? I'd like that one.

 

Coming to the NBC streaming service "Peacock."

Will NBC Finally Do Justice to the SNL Library?

 

The author of that article suggests that it would probably behoove NBC to acquire all the music licensing... but unfortunately, there is still no indication that it'll actually happen.

 

I look forward to the time in the near future when every single media producer thinks its content deserves its own subscription streaming service and we have 59 to choose from ranging from $10 to $25 a month.

Well let me put that another way...I look forward to 18 months later when we are back to having four to choose from.

 

Still paying at least 50 bucks less a month than cable with just Hulu + Live, Netflix, Amazon and HBO. Plus you got free/commercials streams like Youtube, Kanopy, Pluto and over the air stations.

 

I do Prime (I have that for shipments along with amazon unlimited) and 5.99 Hulu.
I hardly watch tv but that’s more than enough for me. I renew Netflix a few times a year but never keep it active for more than 30 days. I’m actually reactivating it this weekend so I’m good to go when the Irishman premieres.

tubi IMDb tv and crackle offer decent programming free of charge (run ads but I don’t mind)

 

An update on what HBO MAX will be offering
HBO Max Launch: Every Movie and TV Show Streaming in May 2020

Some decent programming, but not that impressed.
Lots of shows. But the movie offerings look a little slim.

 

Regarding Simpsons: Didn't Hulu only had the most recent season on there? I know Disney plus will have the entire series to stream. Also Seinfeld won't be on Netflix until 2021.