Cable providers keep surprising these weeks. First, Verizon starts to unbundle its channels and fend off angry networks. Yesterday, Cablevision announced that it offer Hulu in packages targeted at cord cutters. This is in addition to the news that Cablevision will sell HBO Now access. Pricing for access to Hulu is sill not available, but TechCrunch is reading between the lines on the ‘cord cutter packages:’
The catch here appears to be in the fine print – the “cord cutter” service is $44.90 per month, but only for the first year…Plus, Cablevsion has tacked on a $4.95/month modem lease fee. The second package, dubbed the “everyday low price” bundle, is less expensive at $34.90/month (not a promotional price). This includes Optimum Online Internet Basics (up to 5 Mbps down), Wi-Fi voice service, and the same free antenna. Both bundles also include access to Cablevision’s 1.1 million hotspots and the modem fee.
It’s almost perfect, and it can’t be more than the $7.99 that a Hulu subscription already costs. It’s a good move for Cablevision to attract millennial customers, but it’s also a notable strategic move for Hulu. The video platform is nowhere near Netflix or Amazon Prime in terms of numbers with only 6 million subscribers. From an official blog post:
It’s not enough for us to simply invest in acquiring and producing great shows…we want to make sure viewers know where to find them – only on Hulu and Hulu Plus. To that end, over the next year, we will more than triple our content marketing spend to grow awareness for, and interest in, Hulu Originals.
Being flexible (hey, ESPN!), and making partnerships with cable providers to resell your platform is a good way to make sure viewers know where to find you and what you offer.