I’m so confused… Netflix, known for streaming commercial-free movie content has launched a whole bunch of new television shows (and modernized TV site organization, as shown above). While Hulu Plus, a product of the television studios themselves, lands the Criterion Collection of classic films. The lines are obviously blurring.
Although monthly subscription fees are similar, the two services still take somewhat different approaches in presentation. Namely, Hulu insists on running commercial advertising on its paid tier. But wait, might even that be up for renegotiation? From the Hulu blog:
Criterion Hulu Plus subscribers will be able to watch the Criterion Collection free of interruption. (Any ads will play up front.)
Also interesting, as highlighted on Hacking Netflix, is Criterion’s rational for choosing Hulu over Netflix:
It has never been easy to find Criterion movies on Netflix — “Criterion” is not even a searchable term there. Compare that with Hulu’s willingness to develop a whole area of their site around us, brand the films associated with us, and develop the capability to show many of our supplements alongside our films.
Fortunately, I subscribe to both Netflix and Hulu Plus. And the biggest recent win for me was the reintroduction of The Daily Show and Colbert Report to Hulu. Which makes spending time on the gym cardio hamster wheels so much more tolerable.