Uh-Oh: Hulu Is Pulling the Plug on Free Streaming

Hulu, one of the last streaming services to offer free TV supported by ads, is switching to a subscription service in the coming weeks. Viewers will now have to pay $8 a month to watch Hulu's catalog. The company, which has allowed users to watch videos without paying since its launch in 2007, already offered a subscription service for limited ads. But since streaming has taken off and more people are cutting their cable cords, Hulu faces more competition (ahem, Netflix) so it is abandoning its free service — almost — completely.

Viewers can still access Hulu videos for free through Comcast and, now, Yahoo. Hulu and Yahoo partnered to create Yahoo View, a TV streaming site that will use Hulu's video player to host ad-supported TV shows from most of Hulu's network partners. Yahoo View will essentially function like Hulu's previously free streaming services: you will be able to watch the five most recent episodes from ABC, NBC, and Fox shows eight days after they were originally broadcast. So it's not the end of the world, but you might have to get behind Yahoo View to continue watching your favorite shows without cost.