Hulu confirms it will offer live TV in 2017

At its NewFront presentation on Wednesday, Hulu confirmed reports that it will bring live TV to its subscribers in 2017.

The content includes live sports, events and news. According to remarks made by Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins, this live programming would not be contingent on a user having access to a cable TV subscription.

News that Hulu would be entering the skinny bundle world first appeared over the weekend in The Wall Street Journal. The Journal reported that Hulu was working with FX, Fox, ESPN, the Disney Channel and ABC on bringing live TV to users.

And although Hopkins didn’t go into detail about what these live-TV bundles would look like -- or how they'd would work -- at least he confirmed the news.

Hulu will be officially entering skinny bundle territory.

By offering access to live TV, Hulu will be officially entering skinny bundle territory. Skinny bundles are offerings from different service providers that give users live or on-demand access to multiple channels at once, but at a rate that is often less expensive than cable. Dish’s Sling TV service helped kick off the trend, though skinny bundles are now available form other companies including Comcast, Sony and Verizon.

Hopkins wouldn’t comment on the price of the bundle, though a report from The New York Times indicates executives feel $40 a month is about the right price point to offer live TV and on-demand content.

Still, even without concrete details, experts agree this is big news. Forrester Research’s Jim Nail said, “The biggest outcome of this announcement will be increased consumer education, meaning more everyday TV-watchers will begin to understand there are alternatives to traditional cable services.”

And although Nail isn’t convinced that skinny bundles have had as much of an impact as cord-cutting hype may lead one to believe, he still thinks that this is important. “The more likely consumers will begin to shift the way they think about their TV service and, eventually, make the move.”

Saba Hamedy contributed to this report

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