Say ciao to the stand-alone Hulu streaming app: Disney said it is “fully integrating” the Hulu service, which it now owns 100%, into its flagship Disney+ streamer.
A new, “unified” Disney+ and Hulu streaming app will be available in 2026, the company said.
“Today we are announcing a major step forward in strengthening our streaming offering by fully integrating Hulu into Disney+,” CEO Bob Iger and CFO Hugh Johnston said in their prepared remarks on the quarterly earnings. “This will create an impressive package of entertainment, pairing the highest-caliber brands and franchises, great general entertainment, family programming, news, and industry-leading live sports content in a single app.”
The Disney execs continued, “By creating a truly differentiated streaming offering, we will be providing subscribers tremendous choice, convenience, quality, and enhanced personalization. This will enhance our ability to continue to grow profitability and margins in our entertainment streaming business through expected higher engagement, lower churn, and advertising revenue potential, as well as operational efficiencies that over time may result in savings that we can reinvest back into the business.”
In addition, Hulu will become a global general entertainment brand: Starting in the fall of 2025, it will replace the Star tile on Disney+ internationally.
“Work is already underway to continue enhancing our technology, and over the coming months, we will be implementing numerous improvements within the Disney+ app, including exciting new features and a more personalized homepage,” Iger and Johnston said.
Also Wednesday, Disney announced that it will no longer report streaming subscriber numbers for Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, following the lead of Netflix and others.
In addition, the company set Aug. 21 as the launch date for its ESPN stand-alone streaming product, priced at $29.99/month.
