Hulu’s U.S. subscriber count surpasses 20 million

Netflix (NFLX), with a 57 million U.S. subscriber base, continues to occupy the top spot when it comes to the streaming services. But there is a chance that rival Hulu may eventually take the lead. Hulu, of which 30% is owned by Disney (DIS), disclosed that it surpassed 20 million subscribers in the U.S., marking a whopping rise from 17 million subscribers back in January 2018.

Hulu, which operates only in the U.S. and Japan, has been successful in getting 3 million U.S. customers paying for their services from the start of the year until now. The streaming service provider boasts of 60% jump in total engagement on its platform. The company has come a long way in becoming one of the premier streaming services in the U.S.

A major disadvantage that can obstruct Hulu from winning the battle for streaming supremacy is that it offers videos only to the users in the U.S. and Japan whereas Netflix has 125 subscribers located globally. But Hulu is doing everything to topple Netflix from the top position. Recently, Hulu won the subscription-streaming rights for few series after Netflix’s rights for the show expired. In fact, Hulu offers more TV channels and shows than Netflix.

Hulu also snatched DreamWorks from Netflix with a major deal, based on which the studio’s movies and series will stream on Hulu.

Hulu plans to offer its subscribers the option of downloading movies or TV shows for offline viewing. But the approach is different from that of its rival. Hulu’s subscribers, both under ad-supported and no commercials plan, can avail the new facility of offline viewing.

Last month, Hulu joined hands with Spotify (SPOT). Under this partnership, consumers can avail services of both the companies with a monthly fee of $12.99. This will help boost the subscriber base for both the companies. The streaming service firm stated that more than 70% of the streaming takes place on connected television sets.