Hulu Launches YouTube TV Competitor

8shares

The competition to win over viewers on streaming services just got a lot more heated. Hulu has just announced that it’s entering the subscription and streaming TV game, only a couple of months after YouTube TV was launched.

Don’t get us wrong – there are already many options out there: Sling, DirectTV… you name it. But YouTube caused a sensation because it’s the first time a social platform and content creation network gets into the TV live streaming game.

Hulu’s live TV package includes 60 base channels for a price of $40/month, and it can be upgraded to include Showtime and expanded DVR usage for a little more than $70. Hulu’s coverage is pretty much the same as that of YouTube TV, currently serving Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Chicago.

The US TV landscape is a complicated one, with content creators and big production companies owning networks, while investing in platforms. For instance Disney and 21st Century Fox own shares at Hulu, which means that the latter now goes up against the distribution networks.

What we see here, is a shift in how content is created and distributed. Production companies can now cut out the middleman and deal directly with the platform. Moreover, streaming companies are also producing their own original content – Hulu and Netflix for example – while YouTube’s Red product is following closely.

The future of TV lies in the hands of online streaming platforms

Click To Tweet