Does Disney Own Hulu?
Hulu is owned by the Walt Disney Company with NBCUniversal having minority shares in the company. It is part of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution segment of the company as it serves as a medium in which people can access their favorite shows from Disney studios.
Following the universal success of Netflix, which was the pioneer of subscription-based streaming services, the big corporations felt the need to provide a platform where they could sell their programs and shows in addition to regular programming as there was clearly a need. They realized that people did not necessarily want to watch shows weekly, but especially the younger population wanted to sit down and watch a full series of a show in one sitting, something they were not previously providing. On top of that, they realized that there was a market for their old shows, ones that had been discontinued or ended, which had been sitting on their shelves accruing dust over the years.
All those factors led to the birth of Hulu as a streaming service, it was supposed to be a combination of the big television companies, a platform in which the companies could sell their products themselves instead of selling them to companies like Netflix. It was initially started by News Corporation, which owns the famous FOX studios, and NBCUniversal which has put out popular and award-winning shows over the years, however, in 2008 just a year after it was launched, it was bought by the Walt Disney Company, owing to the many television stations and shows the company owns hoping to bring in more clients.
During its first years, it was a free service, it allowed its users to enjoy the services for free in exchange for advertisements being played during the shows. It was widely popular as it was free, unlike its main competitor Netflix which charged $10-$15 dollars for access. You could watch any show you wanted if you didn’t mind a couple of disturbances to your viewing. However, over time they introduced an ad-free subscription-based model, which featured full seasons from their programs and automatic access to new episodes when they aired. This has proven to be the more popular version that has allowed the show to gain the popularity it now enjoys in the United States and Abroad.
The lowest subscription package is affordable for most people as it only costs you $7 per month however, there are still a few advertisements in between shows and you are not allowed to record shows, you cannot download to watch later either, you cannot watch live tv, you do not have access to Disney+ and you cannot watch live sports.
The middle-range subscription is much like the first one except it gives you access to download and watch and has no advertisements in the service, but it costs you almost double what the first one costs at $13 per month.
The most expensive subscription package on the website costs a whopping $70 a month, however, you get to experience the whole package, from Disney+ where you can watch or rather re-watch classic cartoons and Disney movies with your children, to live sports where you can enjoy the baseball, basketball and football games live with your boys. You can also download the episodes and watch them while you are on a road trip, you can record your favorite shows and watch them back-to-back on the weekends, the possibilities are endless if you are willing to pay for the service.
Conclusion
It’s easy to see why the Walt Disney own hulu Company paid $71 Billion dollars for the company and with 70,000+ shows for you to enjoy as well as live tv from your favorite channel, it’s not a wonder why people pay for the subscription and keep coming back. It’s entertainment for the whole family to enjoy all day long, just make sure you don’t have underemployed relatives living near you as they will not want to leave.
Does Hulu offer free trials?
Yes, you can get up to one month free for the first month when you subscribe to the service, so if you are not sure if it is really worth it, try the first month and if you don’t like it you can just unsubscribe.
Is there another way I can watch Disney+ without subscribing to the $70 dollar premium service?
Yes, there is a combination bundle offered by Hulu where you add another $7 and you get access to the full package.
