In this week’s subscription roundup, we first look at Bloomberg Media Group which has introduced a new paywall and will now charge $35 a month for access. Will readers pay for a service that they have become accustomed to using free of charge? We then look at the ever-improving Amazon Prime subscription bundle, which is bringing in more perks for subscribers. Moving on, we look at MoviePass which has brought back its ‘unlimited’ movie subscription plan. Lastly, we look at Hulu’s new move to counter Netflix.
Bloomberg introduces paywall controls
Global financial news company Bloomberg has decided to implement a paywall that will charge users for access to the company’s main website and other news apps. The paywall has two tiers – the first one is a $34.99 plan for Bloomberg.com, mobile apps, live streaming of Bloomberg TV, podcasts and subscriber-only newsletters; whilst the more expensive $39.99 plan will include the services listed above plus print and digital subscriptions to Bloomberg Businessweek and access to some BloombergLIVE events. Users can still read 10 articles per month for free and watch 30 minutes of Bloomberg TV live stream per day before the paywall kicks in.
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More perks coming for Amazon Prime subscribers
After increasing the annual cost of Amazon Prime membership from $99 to $119, the company is all set to reward its customers by including more perks in the service. Prime users will now get 10% additional discount on Whole Foods products, including on already discounted products. Subscribers will also get free deliveries of Whole Foods products at certain locations, 5% additional cash back on Visa rewards cards and other subscriber-only deals.
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MoviePass re-introduces unlimited movie subscription plan
Subscription movie ticketing service, MoviePass, has brought back its unlimited movie subscription plan. Interestingly, this plan was shelved only last month in favour of a $29.95 three-month plan that let subscribers watch only four movies a month. MoviePass now offers two plans – the $9.95 unlimited plan and $7.95 plan which lets users watch three movies per month, in addition to a three-month trial of iHeartRadio’s all-access plan. It isn’t clear why MoviePass previously shelved the unlimited plan, which was quite popular in the first place.
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Hulu close on the heels of Netflix
Subscription streaming service Hulu has signed a multi-year deal with DreamWorks Animation, snatching the studio from arch rival Netflix. Hulu will become the exclusive streaming partner for theatrical releases from the studio beginning 2019. DreamWorks Animation is home to very popular kids content and losing it to Hulu will be a big blow to Netflix which is trying to enhance its kids programming section. Last year, even
Disney announced that it will pull away its films from Netflix to focus on its own streaming service.
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(Image credit: Gwen Seemel on Flickr)