How does Hulu Live TV Work?

As we step into 2020, there’s no dearth of web streaming companies offering the very best of entertainment. Disney+ is the latest entry in a crowded field of competing services. For that reason, it can get quite daunting for a consumer to choose the best option available. Ultimately, what is it that makes a streaming service stand out for you?

It can be a number of different things – most significant is the content. It’s the content that’ll most likely draw you to a particular streaming service. Price is definitely a factor to consider, with some services offering content at much lower prices than its competitors.

But apart from these obvious factors, consider the device you’re planning to stream on as well. Also, if the streaming service provides only online content or whether you can watch actual TV on it too.

Live TV on Streaming Services

Internet streaming companies like Netflix and Amazon Prime provide you with content on their servers. The repository is already there and it keeps alternating with time.

However, there are other kinds of service providers, which, apart from providing access to an online library, also provide you with access to live TV. Such services are termed over-the-top (OTT) media services, and typically bypass cable or satellite television.

The Hulu Live TV, for example, is a subscription service falling into this type of category. The main difference between cable TV and an OTT service is that where the former is streamed over a closed, private network, an over-the-top media service streams over the public internet.

To sum it up, apart from accessing Hulu’s entertainment, you can also gain access to more than 60 popular cable TV channels if you subscribe to its Live TV version. It’s relatively expensive, but a great choice compared to traditional cable or satellite television.

How Hulu + Live TV Works

For a subscription fees of $54.99, you can gain access to on-demand programming as well as more than 60 channels, including country-wide cable networks like ESPN, TBS, MSNBC, and many others. Apart from these channels, you also get access to an entire host of local news and sports networks, depending on your location in the United States.

One of the greatest advantages of using a subscription service like Hulu + Live TV over a video-on-demand service is that you gain access to your favorite shows at the same time it’s being screened on TV. Moreover, there’re absolutely no hidden costs, like equipment fees or instalment charges.

But, of course, for a service like Hulu + Live TV to work seamlessly, you need an internet connection with great speed. This is an absolute requisite. And unless you pay handsomely for your internet, there’s little point paying for an over-the-top media services like the Hulu + Live TV.

There’re Downsides Too!

Other than Hulu, services like Sling TV, DirecTV Now, or PlayStation Vue all provide similar over-the-top media services to their consumers. You can watch live TV – albeit different channels – via the internet using any of these services.

But as cheap and relatively convenient when compared to traditional TV methods, there are downsides to using such services too. The streaming quality for live programs is often not as good as cable TV. Moreover, depending on the live traffic, streaming can be somewhat of a problem. The worst case is when your internet is down or slow, which basically means that you can’t access the benefits of live television at all.

The Advantages Are Too Good to Resist!

But whatever the issues that may exist with over-the-top media services, the upsides are too good to resist. Prime among them is the versatility of such services. For example, Hulu + Live TV is supported on a host of devices. Whether it’s a smart TV, or your mobile device, or even a gaming console like Xbox Hulu has got you covered everywhere. You can basically own any device and still use Hulu to stream live TV to it!

What’s better is that with add-on charges, you can even access live TV on the go – provided you’ve enough internet data to do so!

But perhaps the most important advantage of using something like Hulu for your TV needs is that it can always be used in conjunction with other services. You’re not barred from using cable service if you already use an over-the-top service!

So, depending on what entertainment means for you, you can use a service like Hulu as well as traditional cable TV. This way you have access to a large number of resources without having to pay premium for all of them.

Our Verdict

Our verdict on over-the-top media services, and especially Hulu + Live TV, is that they’re here to stay. This is the future of television. It has downsides too, but if we can figure out a way to give consumers their favorite content at a price which suits them, it won’t be long before traditional TV will be replaced with OTT media services.

If you’ve any questions, or want to share your experience of using Hulu + Live TV or a similar kind of service, please reach out to us by commenting in the section below. Your comments and opinions help us grow!