Hulu to Fully Combine With Disney Plus and Expand Globally: What We Know
The Hulu tile was added to Disney Plus in March 2024, allowing subscribers who have both services to watch Hulu content within the Disney Plus app. The Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger said today that this fall, the Hulu tile will replace the Star tile on the service for international customers. He added that the new offering will give customers more choice and convenience.
Pricing details and exact timeline were not discussed, nor do we know what new bundling options might open up down the road, but changes are on the way.
"Over the coming months, we will be implementing improvements within the Disney Plus app, including exciting new features and a more personalized homepage," he said, "all of which will culminate with the unified Disney Plus and Hulu streaming app experience that will be available to consumers next year."
Disney Plus viewers can watch movies and shows from brands like Star Wars and Marvel, a suite of live channels that includes ABC News and The Simpsons, and if they're subscribed to Hulu or ESPN, a selection of content from both services. According to an executive summary (PDF) shared ahead of Wednesday's earnings call, the merged version of the streaming app will offer "family programming, news, and industry-leading live sports content."
Although Iger did not explicitly state whether Hulu will be phased out completely, he mentioned that the merger will result in "efficiencies when these are together. It will be on one tech stack, for instance, one tech platform." He hinted that the Hulu and Disney combo may result in new -- or more -- bundles for customers.
"I imagine down the road, it may give us some price elasticity as well that we haven't had before," said Iger. "And it also provides us with a tremendous bundling experience because when you have the one app that has a significant amount of all of the Disney and the other Disney-branded programming with the general entertainment programming bundled, for instance, with the ESPN direct-to-consumer app."
The media giant's new standalone sports streaming service -- dubbed ESPN -- will replace ESPN Plus and launch on Aug. 21 (rather than in the fall) and be included in current Disney bundle offerings with pricing that starts at $36 a month to watch with ads. Once the Hulu and Disney Plus merger happens next year, customers may see new streaming packages from the company.
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