The most popular live streaming service in the United States is getting more channels in 2021. Hulu With Live TV has a new distribution agreement with ViacomCBS, bringing the latter's suite of channels to the former's service in a multi-year deal.
Terms weren't disclosed, but it also includes the continued carriage of broadcast-level CBS.
“We are excited to have reached an expanded agreement with Hulu that underscores the value of our powerful portfolio of brands to next-generation TV platforms and viewers,” Ray Hopkins, President, U.S. Networks Distribution, ViacomCBS, said in a press release. “Hulu continues to be a great partner, and this agreement ensures that Hulu + Live TV subscribers are now able to enjoy the full breadth of our leading content across news, sports and entertainment for the first time.”
ViacomCBS channels already included on Hulu With Live TV are CBS Sports Network, Pop TV, Smithsonian Channel and The CW. Fourteen new channels are coming, including BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, VH1, CMT, Nick Jr., TV Land, BET Her, MTV2, NickToons, TeenNick, and MTV Classic.
The new channels don't come with any new announcement of a price increase, but nor would we expect it to since Hulu With Live TV just increased its rates by $10 a month in December 2020.
Hulu With Live TV, which sports some 4.1 million subscribers at last check, still has just a single plan, and it costs $64.99 a month. That's right in line with its closest competition, YouTube TV. (Which, by the way, increased its rates in the summer of 2020, just before adding the ViacomCBS channels.) It also gets you full access to the entire Hulu on-demand catalog.
And if you're really serious about things, check out the epic Hulu/Disney+/ESPN+ bundle, which gets you all three services for the price of two. In fact, if you're considering Hulu With Live TV, the bundle is almost a no-brainer at just $7 a month more.
Hulu With Live TV is available most every major streaming platform, including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Chromecast with Google TV, web browsers, and more. It's home to a huge catalog of shows, as well as new exclusives like The Handmaid's Tale, A Teacher, and The Great.
