Father’s Day Deal: Roku, Hulu Bundle, 35 Percent Off

Father’s Day may be spent at the ballpark, but Hulu hopes dads will spend that evening in front of the television, with a discounted Roku and Hulu package.

Father’s Day may be spent at the ballpark, but Hulu hopes dads will spend that evening in front of the television, with a discounted Roku and Hulu package.

Beginning Friday, June 1, Hulu will offer a special deal where customers can purchase a Roku box, a 6-month Hulu Plus subscription, and an HDMI cable for $79.99, with free shipping tossed in. That works out to a $45 savings, or 35 percent off. (The link will go live on June 1, according to a Hulu spokeswoman.)

The Roku’s appeal is the great variety of channels it offers – over 200 at last count, although they’re all streaming services like Netflix. Still, the Roku 2 HD can only display video in a 720p format, which might disappoint videophiles. On the other hand, the Roku 2 is completely wireless.

In October, Hulu’s owners – News Corp., Comcast (which owns NBC) and Disney – decided not to sell the site, after reportedly encouraging bids to do just that. In January, the site reported that it had 1.5 million subscribers. Chief executive Jason Kilar claimed that the site was currently gaining twice as many subscribers each day than it was this time last year, and that subscriptions will make up more than half of Hulu’s business later in 2012.

Hulu Plus launched on the Xbox 360 in April 2011, and was added to the PlayStation 3 in November 2010. Hulu Plus is also available via Android devices, the iPad and iPhone, and numerous televisions and set-top boxes, including streaming devices from Netgear, Western Digital and Funai.

And don’t forget to check out our ten last-minute Father’s Day tech gifts for under $50, including an ultraviolet razor sanitizer and a digital golf scorecard.

By Mark Hachman, PCMag