Spotify and Hulu have teamed up for a $5-a-month streaming bundle for students - and it's just the 'first step'
"Spotify Premium for Students, with Hulu," as the companies have labeled the deal, adds Hulu's limited commercials plan to Spotify's existing $4.99-a-month premium streaming deal for college students.
Any student who is already subscribed to Spotify's premium deal will now have access to Hulu's service, which includes the back catalogs of shows like "Seinfeld" and "South Park," as well as acclaimed Hulu original shows like "The Handmaid's Tale."
The new deal marks the first TV-and-movie partnership for Spotify, which confirmed the hiring of Disney executive Courtney Holt to run its original video and podcast programming Wednesday. And the student bundle is just the "first step," according to Spotify, which said the companies will soon target the broader market with a similar bundle deal.
The new bundle
Recently, cross-media bundle deals between prominent companies have become common in the entertainment industry, as media giants contemplate the future of the traditional cable bundle.
T-Mobile announced Wednesday that it would be giving away free Netflix service to its family-plan customers, and AT&T bundled access to HBO programming with its "Unlimited Plus" wireless plan in April. (AT&T is in the process of buying HBO parent company, Time Warner.)
Amazon Prime, which in itself bundles together package shipping, music streaming, premium TV shows, and the use many other services, also allows subscribers to purchase subscriptions to video services like Showtime and Starz through a discounted bundle.