The Criterion Collection Leaves Hulu on November 11

The good news is that the Criterion Collection is partnering with Turner Classic Movies to create a new, classic-movie-focused streaming service called FilmStruck. That launches on October 19 with hundreds of great old movies, new original content, tailored recommendations, and supplemental materials. The bad news is that means the Criterion is leaving Hulu, its streaming home for a number of years. Starting on November 11, FilmStruck becomes Criterion’s exclusive streaming home, and Hulu loses its Criterion site.

From Criterion’s announcement for FilmStruck:

We’ve had a great five years at Hulu, but the opportunity to build our own channel with the help of the incredible team at TCM is a dream come true for our company. FilmStruck will be the exclusive streaming home of the Criterion Collection as of November 11, when our library will be leaving Hulu. The monthly cost of FilmStruck and the Criterion Channel together will be $10.99, but you can sign up for the FilmStruck newsletter to receive a free two-week trial offer when the services go live.

Previously, Criterion was part of Hulu’s plan, and a real bonus to anyone paying for a subscription to the site (myself included). It will be a bummer to lose those movies there, and if you’re not interested in FilmStruck, you better start catching up on all the Criterions in your Hulu watchlist before they vanish on November 11. If you are planning on getting FilmStruck, well, this really does not affect you all that much, unless you were subscribing to Hulu specifically for the Criterion movies, in which case you are almost definitely about to swap one service for the other.