Hulu announced that the ability to download videos for offline viewing was coming “in a few months” back in January of 2017, and after a wait of more than two years, Hulu has finally delivered on its promise.
In an update rolling out today to iOS and other Apple devices (with Android support coming “soon”), users will be able to download most of Hulu’s catalog of 85,000 movies and TV episodes, so you can stash content for times when you might not have an internet connection.
Hulu’s offline viewing feature works much as it does on competing platforms like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. Users will be able to download up to 25 videos at a time spread among five different devices, with videos set to expire after 30 days, or two days after being viewed. And if you don’t manage to watch your TV show within 30 days, you can renew your download by reconnecting your device to the internet.
Users will also be able to download videos over wifi or a cellular connection, with the Hulu app including a toggle to disable cellular downloads to help prevent you from blowing through your monthly allotment of mobile data. There’s even a new tab inside the Hulu app dedicated to helping you find and download videos, with a simple download icon denoting which titles are available for offline viewing.
One thing to note is that the ability to download videos is restricted to Hulu ad-free subscriptions (which start at $12 a month), which means anyone with Hulu’s ad-supported $6 plan won’t have access to downloadable content.
Still, for anyone who’s been hoping to download episodes of Smallville, Veronica Mars, or something from parent company Disney’s incoming library of content, at least its nice to see Hulu finally add support for downloadable videos later rather than never.