Building H Index

Hulu

INDUSTRY

entertainment

products Profiled

Hulu video streaming service

H-Score

25

ranked 5th (tie) of 7 within entertainment industry

ranked 35th (tie) of 37 overall

product description

Hulu’s video streaming service allows subscribers to watch video content on screens of all sizes (including televisions, computers, tablets and smartphones) on a 24/7 basis. Usage of the service is unlimited and charged at a flat rate. Hulu offers a version with advertisements and a premium version without ads. It also offers a version that includes live television, including programming from 75 broadcast and cable channels.(1) It also serves as a bundler of services, incorporating content from other channels such as HBO Max, Showtime and Starz.

Hulu has approximately 43 million subscribers(2) and, at one time, offered more than 85,000 TV episodes and movies.(3)

product usage

Most people use the product by sitting, for sustained periods of time, and watching content on a screen. Most users watch the service indoors most of the time and use the service sometimes alone and sometimes with friends or family. While using the service, the service consumes most, if not all, of the user’s attention. Hulu is one of several competing video streaming services and most users who watch Hulu also spend time watching other services as well. 

influence on health-related behaviors

EATING

slight to moderate negative influence

Television viewers frequently eat while watching TV and the foods they eat tend to be less healthy than foods consumed at meal times. Watching TV multiple hours a day has been linked to unhealthy dietary behaviors, and increased outcomes of diet-related diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.(4,5) 

People tend to eat more mindlessly while watching TV because they’re distracted: food is less satisfying, and you miss cues that you’ve eaten enough.(6)

In Building H’s consumer research 64% of video streaming users (not specific to Hulu) reported eating at least one meal per week and 59% of users reported snacking sometimes, usually or always, while watching streamed content. 37% of users who streamed more than 4 hours per day reported eating more than one meal per day and 49% of those users reported snacking usually or always, while watching.(7)

Some association between diet and television watching has been attributed to the presence of advertisements for unhealthy foods.(8,9) Hulu does offer a version of its service with advertisements, but we do not have information on the content of those advertisements to determine if unhealthy foods are being featured.

PHYSICAL ACTVITY

moderate negative influence

Television watching is typically a sedentary activity, thus time spent watching television limits opportunities for physical activity. In addition, television viewing is an especially sedentary behavior, having a lower metabolic rate than other sedentary activities.(10) While a moderate amount of television watching would leave time for more active pursuits, Americans on average spend approximately six hours per day watching video content(11) and less than 5% of Americans get 30 minutes per day of moderate physical activity.(12)

Hulu’s implementation of streaming video uses features that encourage greater use of the service; the flat subscription rate sets no maximum limit on viewing; and the autoplay feature automatically plays next episodes, typically after 15 seconds, thus encouraging binge-watching. Autoplay is activated for children’s programming as well. Hulu, unlike many of its competitors, does offer users the option to disable the autoplay feature through the settings menu. It’s not clear how many users are aware of the option or how many exercise it.

The addition of a live television option potentially encourages more viewing.

slight to moderate negative influence

Late-night television viewing negatively affects sleep in two ways: 1) by offering a competitive alternative to sleep; and 2) through the bright, blue spectrum light of the screens that has been shown to suppress the production of melatonin, a hormone that signals the onset of the sleep cycle.(13)

Building H’s consumer research found that 54.7% of video streaming users (not specific to Hulu) reported that watching TV or movies caused them to lose some sleep at least once a week on average, with 36.6% reporting that they got less sleep for this reason two or more times a week. 14.5% reported their sleep being affected four or more nights a week.(14)

Hulu encourages binge-watching (which can compete with sleep) through the use of autoplay. 

It does not adapt any of its features to treat “bedtime” differently than any hour of the day.

Hulu might also influence sleep indirectly through its influences on physical activity and time spent outdoors, as both of those behaviors are positively correlated with better sleep.

Engaging Socially

neutral to slight negative influence

Television watching can be either a solo or a social activity. Building H’s consumer research found that 36.1% of streaming users (not specific to Hulu) reported watching with others at least 75% of the time, 26.6% reported sometimes watching with others and 37.3% reported watching with others less than 25% of the time.(15) These results are consistent with other research that found Americans split their time evenly between watching alone or watching with others.(16)

Watching television alone clearly competes with social activity, but watching with significant others, family and friends can enhance relationships. 

Hulu supports social viewing through Hulu Watch Party, a feature that enables up to eight people to chat and watch the same content synchronously. Watch Party is not available on all titles. Watch Party currently only works through a web browser -- it is not available through apps or on smart TVs.

Getting Outdoors

moderate negative influence

As most viewing takes place indoors, time watching television competes with time spent outdoors.

Return to Building H Index report

1. Hulu website.

2. Julia Stoll. Number of Hulu's paying subscribers in the United States from 1st quarter 2019 to 4th quarter 2021. Statista website. November 15, 2021

3. Ty Pendelbury. Netflix vs. Hulu: Which has the best price, original shows and bundles? CNET. May 8, 2019

4. Georgina Cairns et al. Systematic reviews of the evidence on the nature, extent and effects of food marketing to children. A retrospective summary. Appetite. Volume 62, 1 March 2013. Pages 209-215.

5. Ahmad Alghadir et al. Television Watching, Diet and Body Mass Index of School Children in Saudi Arabia. Pediatrics International. Volume 58, Issue 4, April 2016. Pages 290-294.

6. Janna Smith and Tanya Ditschun. Controlling satiety: how environmental factors influence food intake. Trends in Food Science & Psychology. Volume 20, Issues 6–7, July 2009. Pages 271-277.

7. Steve Downs. A Survey of Modern Life: Food; Delivery Apps, Meal Kits, Groceries and Cooking Dinner. Building H on Medium. January 20, 2022.

8. J.L. Harris et al. Priming effects of television food advertising on eating behavior. Health Psychology, 28(4), (2009). Pages 404–413. 

9. Cairns et al. (2013)

10. Barbara Ainsworth et al. Compendium of Physical Activities: Classification of Energy Costs of Human Physical Activities. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, January 1993, pp. 71-80.

11. Sarah Perez. U.S. Adults Now Spend Nearly 6 Hours per Day Watching Video. TechCrunch, July 31, 2018

12. President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition. Facts & Statistics

13. Matthew Walker. Why We Sleep. pp. 267-270.

14. Steve Downs. A Survey of Modern Life: Sleep; New Data on American Sleeping Patterns. Building H on Medium. May 25, 2021

15. Carlo Martinez. A Survey of Modern Life: Entertainment. Building H on Medium. May 4, 2021

16. When You Watch, Are You Alone? Radio & Television Business Report January 15, 2019