Hulu’s latest iPhone app update will cost the company dearly — but it may be worth it: Hulu now allows users to sign up for its Hulu Plus subscription service right within the app, which means that Apple takes over the billing relationship for those customers. In return, Apple will get 30 percent, or $2.40, of Hulu’s monthly subscription fee of $8.

The new Hulu Plus iPhone app lets you sign up for a subscription right then and there.

Apple first introduced the 30 percent cut back in early 2011 when it added the ability to bill for in-app subscriptions to iOS. Back then, many publishers were outraged not only about the size of the cut Apple was demanding, but also the fact that the new policy didn’t allow them to use their own billing for new iOS customers.

Protests against the fee have largely died down over the years…