Hulu adds commercial-free option for subscribers

It’s official: Hulu announced Wednesday that it is adding a commercial-free option.

Hulu, whose basic subscription costs $7.99 a month, has 9 million subscribers. The company, owned in part by Disney, 21st Century Fox and Comcast, said viewers can now pay $11.99 per month to cut ads with its new no commercials plan.

The news comes a little over a month after reports hinting at the Santa Monica-based company’s potential plans.

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The streaming service has received complaints in the past from users who don’t like having to endure breaks in their viewing. In fact, earlier this year, when some Hulu users blasted the ad breaks on social media, Hulu’s Twitter account replied that it hadn’t ruled out an ad-free plan.

“Many of our customers have asked us for a commercial free option, and so today we are excited to introduce just that,” Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins said in a statement. “Providing more choice for consumers is fundamental to the Hulu experience. In addition to an array of choices in content and devices, our customers can now choose to watch with or without commercials.”

In the past year, Hulu has used an aggressive strategy to strengthen its content reservoir to build its subscriber base. Most recently, the company announced a multiyear deal with pay-TV channel Epix.

Adding the commercial-free option is another way for Hulu to help ensure that current subscribers don’t abandon ship for streaming service alternatives.

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