Hulu is slimming down what it offers users — and that’s apparently a good thing.
According to a new interview with Hulu CEO Randy Freer, the streaming service plans to offer a “skinnier” bundle of channels with fewer live channels, but more on-demand content.
“We have to be able to evolve so we can provide the customers the news and sports and entertainment in a way that makes sense, bundled in a way that allows us to create packages that have a positive margin,” Freer told The Information. He noted that Hulu aims to, “drop some live entertainment channels to be able to create smaller bundles of live sports, news, and on-demand entertainment in ways to appeal to more viewers and reduce costs.”
It’s not clear exactly what Hulu’s exact changes will be, but Freer gave the example of offering a bundle consisting of HBO, Starz and Showtime, or a sport bundle with live news.
He also addressed the challenge of rival companies like Apple and Amazon, which are growing their presence in the streaming arena.
“We are going to become the wholesaler for a lot of these direct-to-consumer brands that are going to need a friendly wholesaler versus Amazon or Apple,”he said. “That is going to help us recreate rules around what needs to be live and what doesn’t.”
By making streaming TV more profitable, Hulu hopes to be able to spend more money on original content. It has already had some notable success in this area, most evidently with the award-winning series The Handmaid’s Tale.
