Disney’s Hulu hopes to usher in a raft of subscribers with a new special deal — offering its ad-supported streaming plan for just $1 per month for three months.
Starting Friday, new and eligible returning subscribers can sign up for the Hulu with ads package for $1/month for three months. That’s an 86% discount off the regular monthly $6.99/month price for the U.S.-only service. The offer is set to run through 11:59 p.m. PT on May 27 at this link.
Ostensibly, Hulu’s new deal is timed for National Streaming Day, the fake May 20 holiday that Roku created to mark the introduction of its first streaming player in 2008. Hulu has regularly staged special deals as part of its subscriber-acquisition strategy, most recently reprising its Black Friday offer of 99 cents/month for one year in November.
The goal, of course, is for Hulu to bulk up its subscriber rolls — in particular, it’s looking to win over customers as category leader Netflix has been hit by higher churn rates. In Q1, Netflix shed 200,000 subscribers and forecast a loss of 2 million for the June quarter.
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To be sure, Hulu’s growth also has dramatically cooled in recent quarters. As of April 2, Hulu had 45.6 million paying customers, up 10% year over year but a gain of just 300,000 in the quarter. That included 4.1 million Hulu + Live TV subscribers, down 200,000 in the period.
The launch of Hulu’s latest special deal comes after the service last month premiered popular original series “The Kardashians” and on Friday (May 20) bows rom-com movie remake “The Valet” starring Eugenio Derbez and Samara Weaving. On June 28, it’s set to launch Season 2 of “Only Murders in the Building” starring Selena Gomez, Steve Martin and Martin Short.
Hulu’s library of TV shows includes “This Is Us,” “Family Guy,” “Abbott Elementary,” “Snowfall” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” along with original series like “The Girl From Plainville” starring Elle Fanning and “Candy” with Jessica Biel. In addition, Hulu recently inked a deal with Live Nation to be the official livestreaming home for music festivals Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits in 2022 and 2023.
