“Pause Ads” Are Coming to Hulu, Here’s What You Need to Know

Late last year, it was revealed that Hulu would start showing ads when users pause a stream. While this sounds absolutely terrible, how this is going to work in reality doesn’t sound so bad.

First off, these won’t be video ads, but instead just static images on the side of the screen. That immediately makes it less obtrusive and keeps the ads out of the way. Really, it’s a smart way of doing it, because it doesn’t bother users that much and keeps the ad revenue coming for Hulu.

The second part of the equation here is who will see these ads. That answer is equally as simple: according to Engadget, any user who subscribes to Hulu’s ad-supported tier—which just got a couple dollar price drop, by the way—will be subject to this new ad format. Users who subscribe to Hulu’s ad-free tier will continue to, well, not get ads. Pretty simple.

Finally, there’s the when. These ads will start to roll out “this spring,” which is just right around the corner despite what weather reports look like today.

via Engadget