Hulu wants to be a streaming media leader. There is no doubt about it. But that is coming at a cost. Since 2016, Hulu has lost $1.887 Billion while subscriber numbers climb.

The competition between streaming media providers is heating up. The home TV entertainment is a MULTI-BILLION dollar industry. And Hulu in investing millions to be a streaming media leader.

Hulu Subscriber Numbers Climb

The good news is that Hulu subscriber numbers are climbing… rapidly.

Hulu Subscribers

Hulu has reported tremendous subscriber growth.

In January of 2018, Hulu reported 17 Million subscribers. And just 4 months later in May of 2018, Hulu reported having 20 Million subscribers.

Hulu Live TV Subscribers

Hulu Live TV is experiencing similar growth.

In January of 2018, Hulu Live TV had about 450,000 subscribers. And now in June of 2018, Hulu Live TV has more than 800,000 subscribers. For a service that is just turning 1-year-old, the Hulu Live TV subscriber growth is amazing.

Hulu Has Lost $1.877 Billion

But amazing subscriber growth comes at a cost. And Hulu is losing millions to get those subscribers.

Or more specifically… Hulu has lost $1.887 Billion in the last 9 quarters.

In 2016, Hulu lost $531 million.

In 2017, Hulu lost $920 Million.

And now in the first quarter of 2018, Hulu is reporting that they lost $436 Million. If that pace continues, Hulu will lose over $1.7 Million in 2018.

Let’s take a look at what Hulu is spending money on.

Hulu Is Spending Money To Create Original Content

Here are some of the Hulu Original series…

• East Los High
• The Path
• Freakish
• Chance
• Shut Eye
• Handmaid’s Tale
• Marvel’s Runaways

Hulu miniseries…

• 11.22.63
• The Looming Tower

Plus, more Hulu Original programming is coming…

• Four Weddings and a Funeral
• Ramy
• Catch-22
• The First
• Castle Rock (July 25, 2018)
• Little Fires Everywhere
• Into The Dark (Year-Round Horror Event Series)

… and this only scratches the surface of the upcoming Hulu Original programming.

Hulu Is Spending Money To Get Subscribers

Hulu still has a way to go to reach Netflix’s U.S. subscriber total of 56.7 Million.

When I wrote that Hulu is Pushing for More Subscribers, I talked about 3 moves Hulu is making to increase subscriber numbers.

1. Signing new marketing partnerships
2. Providing special offers to new Hulu subscribers
3. Investing in Original shows

Read this recap below, or read the full post, Hulu is Pushing for More Subscribers.

1.) New Marketing Partnerships

• Hulu Sponsors NBA Playoff Series on TNT (April 13, 2018)
• Spotify Premium – Now with Hulu (April 11, 2018): Partnership Deal
• Official Sponsor of the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup Playoffs and Finals (April 10, 2018)
  • official sponsor of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Finals.
  • sponsorship of the Stanley Cup Playoffs pre-game shows on NBC Sports.
• The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden (March 01, 2018): Marketing Partnership with naming rights

2.) Special offers to new Hulu subscribers

• Spotify Premium – Now with Hulu for 99-cents Per Month (3 Months)
• Add HBO for $4.99 (EXPIRED DEAL) per month for 6 months to ANY Hulu plan, then the regular price of $14.99 per month
• Hulu Free Trial Offers:
  • Hulu Limited Commercials – First Month Free Trial
  • Hulu No Commercials– First Month Free Trial
  • Hulu Live TV – First Week Free Trial

3.) Original shows

• Hulu has 28 Original shows that include The Handmaid’s Tale, The Path, Marvel’s Runaways, The Looming Tower, 11.22.63, Hard Sun, and Future Man.
• Upcoming Hulu Original shows include Catch-22, Castle Rock, and The First.
• Hulu and IFC Films Announce New Output Deal (January 25, 2018)

Hulu Is Spending Money On Infrastructure and App Features

Hulu has been aggressively improving their streaming services. Here is a short list of recent Hulu improvements to their infrastructure and app features.

• Hulu Live TV Guide – Dedicated live destination and a dynamic guide into our Web experience for Hulu Live TV
• Hulu Live TV App Updates – LG WebOS Smart TVs, More Samsung Smart TVs and Roku Devices Get Hulu Live TV
• More DVR Options – New features for the Hulu Live TV Cloud DVR
• Personalized Olympic Winter Games (feature) – Customize Olympic Winter Games preferences
• Live TV on Web Gets My Stuff and Picture-in-Picture
• New Hulu UI Experience
• Hulu Live TV Beta Service
• Support for Amazon’s Alexa

… and more – which includes improvements in the behind-the-scenes infrastructure that runs it all.

Streaming Services Subscriber Numbers

Here is where Hulu stands next to other streaming home TV entertainment and content providers.

• Netflix – 56.7 Million Subscribers (125 Million Worldwide)
• Hulu (Total: Includes Non-Live & Live) – 20 Million Subscribers
• Sling TV – 2.2 Million subscribers
• DIRECTV NOW – 1.2 Million subscribers
• Hulu Live TV (Only Live TV) – 800,000 subscribers
• Playstation Vue (PS Vue) – 450,000 to 670,000 subscribers
• YouTube TV – 300,000 subscribers
• fuboTV – 100,000 subscribers
• Philo – 50,000 subscribers

Note: All subscription numbers are either unofficial or estimated. YouTube TV estimates are courtesy of CNBC. Playstation Vue estimate of 670,000 subscribers courtesy of Ben Bajarin. Philo subscriber estimate from Wikipedia. DIRECTV NOW, fuboTV, Hulu, Hulu Live TV, and Sling TV self-disclosed their subscriber estimates.