As we reported yesterday, there was a rumor going around that Hulu Plus would soon be added to the Roku line of streaming media devices. Well, not only has the San Jose Mercury News confirmed that piece of news, but it added in that it would also be happening on TiVo devices for Premiere customers.
“We’re thrilled to be able to provide Hulu Plus subscribers with the most inexpensive device to stream Hulu content to their TVs,” said Anthony Wood, founder and CEO of Roku, Inc. “Hulu continues to be an amazing innovator in online entertainment, and Roku is an ideal platform to bring their content back to the living room and high definition televisions where it is best viewed.”
“Adding Hulu Plus to TiVo’s content offering was really the key missing piece to the programming portfolio that TiVo needed in order to deliver a truly comprehensive advanced television offering on the market today — bar none,” said Tara Maitra, VP & General Manager, Content Services and Ad Sales, TiVo Inc. “TiVo is the complete TV entertainment solution. No other service is as robust or offers consumers the ability to access live TV, Web video, and video on demand content from one box like TiVo does.”
Despite both companies crowing that this now makes them the king of the hill, Hulu Plus coming to TVs is a major step in freedom for consumers. As I said yesterday, you may not get access to every cable show (We’re looking at you HBO), but those can be covered by renting DVDs from Netflix, which are still part of their streaming plan here in the United States.
So, for $18.98 a month when you combine the most basic Netflix subscription with Hulu Plus, you are now going to be able to combine both programs and save a considerable amount of money over a monthly cable subscription. The argument for cable staying in our lives is becoming a tenuous one at best.
What’s curious about this is you have to wonder why the networks are making it easier and easier for you to step away from the traditional ad supported revenue model that has sustained them all these years. Yes, you pay for these subscriptions, and they get a cut of them, but they can’t be nearly the same amount of revenue they currently enjoy. Yay for the consumers, though, as you get more options on how you consume the content.
What say you? Will you be more tempted to “cut the cable” now?
