Hulu recently announced that they will be introducing a premium service that is a departure from the free model that has made it so popular.  For $10 per month, subscribers to this new service will gain features like access to a larger content library and the availability of 720p video; however, premium subscribers hoping to bypass the embedded advertisements will be disappointed, as they will get the same number of ads as in the free service.  Response to the announcement has been mixed, with many people disappointed in particular that the advertisements will persist.

It should be noted that most people have been expecting this announcement ever since Hulu launched.  Despite its popularity, Hulu continues to lose money, and it faces stiff competition from the likes of Netflix and iTunes.  To help muscle into living rooms around the United States, Hulu and Microsoft will join forces to bring Hulu to the Xbox Video Marketplace dashboard, and Hulu will also be available on Sony’s PS3, Apple’s iPad and iPhone, and a slew of other devices like Bluray players and TVs.

Whether or not they’re interested in Hulu’s pay service, subscribers are likely to gain from increased entertainment options.  With a wide variety of hardware (set top devices, game consoles, placeshifting devices) and services (Hulu, iPlayer, etc) and ongoing investments by service providers in advanced network policy control to deliver optimum quality of experience, the marketplace will decide the winners; ultimately, the choice is up to the subscribers.