Hulu on Wednesday dropped the price of its subscription-based Hulu Plus service from $9.99 per month to $7.99 per month.
Hulu Plus also launched today on Roku.
With this move, Hulu Plus is officially out of the preview stage, Hulu chief executive Jason Kilar wrote in a blog post. Any users who signed up in the last few months at the $9.99 rate will be issued a credit during their next billing cycle, he said.
To draw users to the service, Hulu will offer one-week free trials to all new Hulu Plus subscribers. Those who joined during the preview period, meanwhile, will get an additional credit for one week of Hulu Plus; people who sign up via Hulu Plus's referral program will get two weeks free.
On the device front, customers who buy a Roku device through December 15 will get one free month of Hulu Plus; Roku boxes start at $59.99. As previously announced, those who purchase a Sony Bravia connected TV or Blu-ray player will also get $20 worth of free Hulu Plus as well.
"We're highly encouraged by the response we've received to the Hulu Plus service during the preview period," Kilar wrote. "Though the service has only been in preview for part of this year, Hulu Plus is already accounting for a material percentage of Hulu's overall business. But we're even more excited about where we plan to take the service in the months and years to come."
Hulu Plus is available on the PC, but also on Apple's iPad, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and third-generation iPod touch, Samsung TVs and Blu-ray players, and Sony Bravia TVs, Blu-ray players, and Dash personal Internet devices, as well as the Sony PlayStation 3. In the coming months, Hulu Plus will be added to Internet-connected Vizio, LG Electronics, and Panasonic Blu-ray players and HDTVs; TiVo Premiere DVRs; the Xbox 360; and Western Digital's WD TV Live Hub Media Center and WD TV Live Plus Network Media Player, and more, Kilar said.
The price drop could be in response to competition from Netflix. The DVD-rental company's lowest monthly price in the U.S. is currently $8.99 for DVD rentals plus streaming. But Netflix has said it is considering a streaming-only plan in the U.S.; it currently offers a streaming-only service in Canada for $7.99 per month.
Hulu Plus provides full-season access to TV shows on Hulu; free access is still available on Hulu.com for recent episodes.