Ugh, I hate when the online new sites all start jumping to assumptions based on stuff like that.
Hulu does have optional add ons for HBO and stuff like that, and a "live TV" thing that opens more stuff, but you don't need those for all of originals or exclusives.
That sounds really annoying. I think the only real different between the tiers for Hulu, Paramount and Peacock is if it has commercials or not. I believe as long as you pay you get pretty much all the same content.We don't have HBO Max in Canada. We have CraveTV which has the HBO license but you have to keep paying higher amounts for higher tiers that have newer content and movies and then pay more to rent some movies.
Hulu does have optional add ons for HBO and stuff like that, and a "live TV" thing that opens more stuff, but you don't need those for all of originals or exclusives.