Newsletter
Fans of Hulu’s Live TV services will be happy to learn that the company has heard all of the feedback and will be offering the service on computers and laptops as well from this point forward. That means that, as of this writing, subscribers to the company’s live TV subscription can stream up more than 50 channels, see what’s coming up next on individual networks, and more directly through their browsers. Best of all, customers won’t even need to install any plug-ins or extensions for the service to work across Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Microsoft’s Edge browser, or Internet Explorer 11. The new web platform for Hulu with Live TV – which launched back in April – also supports on-demand content from the service, though there’s no mention as to whether it supports other features, such as cloud DVR, yet.
The addition of web-based live television services for users on PCs or Macs makes sense as a move to expand the service to a wider audience. Moreover, it brings some consistency to the streaming providers services since it other on-demand movies and TV episodes were already available across mobile devices, smart TVs, Blu-Ray players, game consoles, and TV accessories. Better still, with Live TV now available in-browser, the company is well-placed to take on its competition in a television media market that is consistently leaning toward streaming services rather than over-the-air programming.
With all of that said, it is important to note that that the currently released version has not been finalized, with regard to either design or features. Instead, it is a response to an overwhelming amount of feedback from customers who wanted to see the platform launched sooner rather than later. Bearing that in mind, the feature will only work without plug-in or extension on “select operating systems,” though Hulu’s press release didn’t specify which OS would or would not support that or when others would gain support. Hulu will, in the meantime, be adding new features and making general improvements to the service, user interface, and other aspects of the browser-based Live TV platform “continuously” over the next several months as it works to fill-out the web experience for users. As always, complaints and suggestion regarding the new service platform can be provided through the company’s feedback channels.