Disney takes over Hulu.

Another head scratcher. If you're going to launch your own service why buy someone else's? Reminiscent of AT&T buying DTV and then trying to figure out what to do with it. Hulu better keep growing or Disney's going to have a heckuva bill come due when Comcast cashes that buyback check in 5 years. :eek:
 
We're all headed to a Max Headroom world. Pretty soon only a couple mega-corporations will own it ALL.

Like this:
S653OQlKUeSqBn5MWjyc6QYKFIlvhp2PhRuIH7HWDlQ.jpg
 
Another head scratcher. If you're going to launch your own service why buy someone else's? Reminiscent of AT&T buying DTV and then trying to figure out what to do with it. Hulu better keep growing or Disney's going to have a heckuva bill come due when Comcast cashes that buyback check in 5 years. :eek:

Disney wants an outlet for their less family-friendly content like the FX Networks stuff they obtained when they bought Fox and Marvel shows similar in tone to their Netflix projects (RIP) that they don't want associated with the main "Disney" brand. Kind of like their Touchstone Pictures brand.
 
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Kind of like their Touchstone Pictures brand.
This makes sense, but is it anywhere near enough content to warrant a recurring subscription?

As big as the Netflix library is, I'm not currently subscribing because I was spending more time searching than watching.
 
Disney wants an outlet for their less family-friendly content like the FX Networks stuff they obtained when they bought Fox and Marvel shows similar in tone to their Netflix projects (RIP) that they don't want associated with the main "Disney" brand. Kind of like their Touchstone Pictures brand.

They already have that outlet. They just want to completely own it, control it, and monetize it. Hulu is the third biggest brand name in the world of online streaming content after Netflix and YouTube. What worries me as a sometimes regular Hulu subscriber is that a lot of Disney's ABC network content on Hulu is exempt from being commercial free even when you subscribe to the $12 commercial-free plan.
 
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They already have that outlet. They just want to completely own it, control it, and monetize it. Hulu is the third biggest brand name in the world of online streaming content after Netflix and YouTube. What worries me as a sometimes regular Hulu subscriber is that a lot of Disney's ABC network content on Hulu is exempt from being commercial free even when you subscribe to the $12 commercial-free plan.

I've read that there are a few shows that, due to contractual obligations, require a single ad (15 seconds, I think) before the start of the show on the ad-free plan. But I think I've run into that like once or twice in the past couple of years. It's never affected any series I normally watch.
 
I've read that there are a few shows that, due to contractual obligations, require a single ad (15 seconds, I think) before the start of the show on the ad-free plan. But I think I've run into that like once or twice in the past couple of years. It's never affected any series I normally watch.

Yes we watched the new Agents of Shield(ABC) on Hulu's On Demand and there was an ad before and an ad after the program.
Subscribing to Hulu ad free and Hulu Live($50.99),then we also got Starz($8.99) and then we also receive Indieplex,Multiplex and Retroplex movie channels,I guess because we got Starz?.
 
Another head scratcher. If you're going to launch your own service why buy someone else's? Reminiscent of AT&T buying DTV and then trying to figure out what to do with it. Hulu better keep growing or Disney's going to have a heckuva bill come due when Comcast cashes that buyback check in 5 years. :eek:

The way I have read it they want to have Disney+,Hulu+,Espn+.
 
Yes we watched the new Agents of Shield(ABC) on Hulu's On Demand and there was an ad before and an ad after the program.
Subscribing to Hulu ad free and Hulu Live($50.99),then we also got Starz($8.99) and then we also receive Indieplex,Multiplex and Retroplex movie channels,I guess because we got Starz?.

Correction:
Movieplex,must have been real tired this morning,sorry.
 
Correction:
Movieplex,must have been real tired this morning,sorry.

Movieplex, Indieplex and Retroplex are movie channels that are part of the Starz family of channels. So it makes sense that you get those channels if you add Starz to your Hulu Live TV plan. You can see the schedule for all of the different Starz channels, including Movieplex, etc., here: STARZ TV Schedule
 
Movieplex, Indieplex and Retroplex are movie channels that are part of the Starz family of channels. So it makes sense that you get those channels if you add Starz to your Hulu Live TV plan. You can see the schedule for all of the different Starz channels, including Movieplex, etc., here: STARZ TV Schedule

Interesting as I did not get those channels when I subscribed to Starz with YTTV,plus Starz on YTTV was $9.00.
 
Interesting as I did not get those channels when I subscribed to Starz with YTTV,plus Starz on YTTV was $9.00.
This is somewhat symptomatic of the much-less-than-whole versions of the plexes that several of the OTT bundle vendors bring. This may give a clear advantage to the "aggregators" like Amazon Prime and The Roku Channel where your subscriptions include the full libraries in a single bill.
 
This is somewhat symptomatic of the much-less-than-whole versions of the plexes that several of the OTT bundle vendors bring. This may give a clear advantage to the "aggregators" like Amazon Prime and The Roku Channel where your subscriptions include the full libraries in a single bill.

Not necessarily. When you subscribe to Starz through YTTV you get 16 linear channels (listed below), plus in-platform on demand content, plus login privileges for the Starz app, which gives you access to everything currently available on Starz on demand. I don't know how many Starz linear channels you get via the Roku Channel, but you definitely don't get login privileges to access the full library on the Starz app when subscribing through the Roku Channel.

I currently have HBO through Amazon Channels, which does give me login privileges to the HBO Now app, which is much better for searching and accessing the content I'm looking for. I'm not 100% convinced everything available via HBO Now is available within the Prime Video app (aka Amazon Channels). And there's only a relatively small selection of HBO linear channels via Amazon Channels. I actually find it more annoying that the HBO content I'm adding to my Watchlist is pushing all my Amazon Prime content, making it harder to find.

The "single bill" concept is totally moot for me (as I'm sure it is for most people), as I'm not writing checks for each service and putting them in separate stamped envelopes. It makes no difference to me whether my automatic credit card charge for HBO came from HBO, Amazon, or Roku. The only difference might be the price, which in the case of HBO, there isn't. I signed up through Amazon Channels this time to get a free extra week, since it was my first time through them. Next time, I'll probably do it directly through HBO, as it will be less cumbersome to cancel. (I'll actually have to research how to cancel my Amazon Channels subscription to HBO.)

Starz Channels on YouTube TV
  • Starz (East)
  • Starz (West)
  • Starz Edge
  • Starz in Black
  • Starz Comedy
  • Starz Cinema
  • Starz Kids & Family
  • Starz Encore (East)
  • Starz Encore (West)
  • Starz Encore Action
  • Starz Encore Classic
  • Starz Encore Black
  • Starz Encore Family
  • Starz Encore Suspense
  • Starz Encore Westerns
  • Starz Encore Español
 
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Not necessarily. When you subscribe to Starz through YTTV you get 16 linear channels (listed below), plus in-platform on demand content, plus login privileges for the Starz app, which gives you access to everything currently available on Starz on demand. I don't know how many Starz linear channels you get via the Roku Channel, but you definitely don't get login privileges to access the full library on the Starz app when subscribing through the Roku Channel.

I currently have HBO through Amazon Channels, which does give me login privileges to the HBO Now app, which is much better for searching and accessing the content I'm looking for. I'm not 100% convinced everything available via HBO Now is available within the Prime Video app (aka Amazon Channels). And there's only a relatively small selection of HBO linear channels via Amazon Channels. I actually find it more annoying that the HBO content I'm adding to my Watchlist is pushing all my Amazon Prime content, making it harder to find.

The "single bill" concept is totally moot for me (as I'm sure it is for most people), as I'm not writing checks for each service and putting them in separate stamped envelopes. It makes no difference to me whether my automatic credit card charge for HBO came from HBO, Amazon, or Roku. The only difference might be the price, which in the case of HBO, there isn't. I signed up through Amazon Channels this time to get a free extra week, since it was my first time through them. Next time, I'll probably do it directly through HBO, as it will be less cumbersome to cancel. (I'll actually have to research how to cancel my Amazon Channels subscription to HBO.)

Cancelling is easy on Amazon Prime Channels. I've had both Now and the HBO Prime Channel. I prefer having the Prime channel because I've run into issues with Now in the past where a piece of content wasn't available when it was supposed to be. I consider the Prime Channel to the Now+, as I get everything I get with Now, plus live streams of a few HBO channels, plus a secondary way to access content, plus Prime Video doesn't skip back three minutes on resume like Now does.
 
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Not necessarily. When you subscribe to Starz through YTTV you get 16 linear channels (listed below), plus in-platform on demand content, plus login privileges for the Starz app, which gives you access to everything currently available on Starz on demand.
I agree that there are exceptions but you have to do your homework to see if you're getting the real deal or a knock-off.

Of course the cable and satellite offerings aren't necessarily complete either but you're more likely to get what you expected through an aggregator like Amazon Prime or The Roku Channel than a service that is offering "sub-lite" house-branded perversions.
 
I agree that there are exceptions but you have to do your homework to see if you're getting the real deal or a knock-off.

Of course the cable and satellite offerings aren't necessarily complete either but you're more likely to get what you expected through an aggregator like Amazon Prime or The Roku Channel than a service that is offering "sub-lite" house-branded perversions.

I definitely wouldn't go with the Roku Channel. No app access is a huge deal-breaker, and I don't have much faith in a channel that mainly shows ad-supported back-catalog movies to deliver high-quality 1080p video with Dolby Digital Plus audio like I get on the Starz or HBO Now apps. RE: Amazon Channels, much to my chagrin, I discovered the PS4 Prime Video app didn't offer DD+ audio when watching HBO content.
 
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