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Hulu Testing Watch Party Feature To View Movies & Shows With Friends Remotely
Hulu is testing a new Watch Party feature that will allow viewers to watch shows and movies with their friends and family remotely. With many people still staying home due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a number of companies have been finding different ways to help people keep in touch with one another while social distancing. Zoom has become a popular means of communication over the past couple of months, with many using it for business meetings, continuing classes during the school year, and even keeping in touch with friends and family. Streaming services have also been adjusting their viewing experience for subscribers, especially since many have seen a massive uptick in users over the past couple of months. Similar to Zoom, many streaming services now have add-on extensions that help groups of people stay in contact while watching their favorite shows and movies at home.
Netflix was the first to jump on this bandwagon, with an extension called Netflix Party becoming available for subscribers to watch its content with groups of people remotely. However, the feature is currently only available as a Google Chrome add-on. The same goes for HBO, which also has a Chrome extension available for group viewing remotely for HBO Now and HBO GO, but unfortunately does not include the company's latest launch, HBO Max. Now, Hulu is joining in on this trend as well, creating a similar feature for current subscribers.
According to Variety, Hulu is testing a new Watch Party feature today that will "let viewers watch titles together and chat in groups of up to eight people." The feature also seems designed "to drive upgrades to the $11.99 monthly package with no ads," as it's only available "to those who have the pricier subscription VOD tier." It can be launched through the "Watch Party" icon under the details portion of certain shows and movies. Viewers will then "be given a link to invite their family and friends, who must also subscribe to the Hulu no-ads plan." Any participants must also "be 18 or older to either start or join a co-viewing session." A group chat will also be available during the Watch Party and users will "have the ability to control their own playback without affecting the rest of the Watch Party."
Unlike Netflix and HBO's current co-viewing feature, Hulu's Watch Party doesn't require a browser plug-in, mainly because it was built in-house by their own production team. The only catch with this new feature is having to upgrade to the no-ads plan for the service. However, considering the massive library of excellent content that's currently available on the platform, it definitely seems like a worthy and fun investment.
Even though some businesses are in the process of reopening, many people are still staying at home just to play it safe. Watch Party features like these are a perfect way to bring people together and bond over a mutual love of shows and movies. These past few months, especially, have been a perfect time for people to binge-watch new content on these various streaming platforms. Now, Hulu is adding to this binge-watching experience by making it easier for their subscribers to watch shows and movies with friends and family.
