Jan 8, 2019 - Economy

Hulu tops 25 million subscribers, $1.5 billion in ad revenue in 2018

Marisa Fernandez

Laptop open to the hulu homepage — Hulu homepage. Photo curtesy of Hulu.

Hulu announced Tuesday it ended 2018 by adding 8 million subscribers, a 48% subscriber increase, to a total of more than 25 million.

Why it matters: Hulu heavily promoted discounts on Black Friday for its streaming video-on-demand package. Meanwhile, Hulu competitor Netflix had 137 million subscribers as of Q3 2018.

Hulu advertising revenue grew to $1.5 billion, a 50% increase in 2018.
The average time spent on Hulu per subscriber each month increased 20%, Hulu said.

What to watch: In 2019, Disney is teed up to take 60% ownership of Hulu through its acquisition of 20th Century Fox.

Disney CEO Bob Iger has told investors Hulu will be targeted toward adults, while Disney+ service will be for kids and families. Disney is also looking to expand Hulu internationally.

Go deeper:

What networks are up against with streaming giants
Subscriptions dominate streaming
Netflix's mega cash burn

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Hulu tops 25 million subscribers, $1.5 billion in ad revenue in 2018

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