Current Events > Hulu being phased out by 2026; fully-integrated into Disney+

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://variety.com/2025/digital/news/hulu-app-phased-out-disney-plus-fully-integrating-1236480450/

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. According to a Disney rep, customers will still be able to buy a stand-alone Hulu subscription (as well as a stand-alone Disney+ plan). 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 prepared commentary on the media giants 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 single Disney+ app with Hulu will deliver an improved consumer experience, which will lower churn, Iger said on the earnings call. Both services will be on one tech platform, which will result in cost synergies, according to Iger. In addition, Disney which already sells ads for Disney+ and Hulu together sees new opportunities for bundling ad sales by fully combining them, he said. In their prepared remarks, the Disney execs said, 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. Meanwhile, Hulus live TV business will be combined Fubo, under a proposed joint venture majority-owned by Disney. The Hulu + Live TV and Fubo brands will remain separately sold and marketed. A Disney rep confirmed that Hulu + Live TV will eventually be integrated into Disney+ sometime in 2026.

The move to fully sew Hulu together with Disney+ comes after Disney following two years of negotiating closed its deal with Comcast to buy out NBCUniversals one-third stake in Hulu in June 2025. Disney paid Comcast in total about $9 billion, including $8.61 billion in November 2023 and $438.7 million this past June. Comcast had been seeking more than $13 billion for the 33% Hulu stake; the final price tag was determined through arbitration by a third-party banker. Disney has already taken steps to integrate Hulu and Disney+. In the spring of 2024, the Disney+ app launched full integration of Hulu content, which the company has used as a way to convert stand-alone Disney+ customers into bundled Disney+/Hulu subs.

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.

Im fine with this. I already just use Hulu through the Disney app anyway

Does this mean no more Solar Opposites?

Not too big a loss. Hulu, as an app, absolutely sucks. It's got the worst interface and service.

Not to mention it's terrible with ads

There were too many streaming services. I get you can just get one for a month and then immediately cancel it, but still and Cable is a a rip off again. There is stuff there like uhh QVC :P and well uhh ESPN.

-Unowninator- posted...

Does this mean no more Solar Opposites?

think that was already announced as ending soon before hand, 6th is final

im surprised it took this long

I'm more annoyed that even with hulu integrated into disney plus, disney plus still doesn't have everything that disney owns and should by all accounts be on the service that we're paying for.

And I'm not even just talking about the odd exclusions like aladdin the series/fillmore/buzz lightyear of star command, I'm talking like, basic ABC shows (ABC being disney owned and all)

-Unowninator- posted...

Does this mean no more Solar Opposites?

It will just be part of Disney Plus.

name_unknown posted...

think that was already announced as ending soon before hand, 6th is final

Wait, really? Damn, I liked that show. :(

LightSnake posted...

Not too big a loss. Hulu, as an app, absolutely sucks. It's got the worst interface and service.

Not to mention it's terrible with ads

Nah. Peacock has it beat. Crashes often, nonexistent display controls, and doesn't work on Linux due to horrible DRM implementation.

Hulu ad-free is my most used streaming service. Hope this doesn't fuck it up too much.

Hulu Live needs to be redesigned from the ground up

CRON posted...

. A Disney rep confirmed that Hulu + Live TV will eventually be integrated into Disney+ sometime in 2026

Eventually? Does that mean there will be a gap? 99% of the time I use Hulu i use for live tv.

Cant wait to get my Sunny fix on the D+ app

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/6/62f297f1.jpg

what's the price though? is this gonna be $30 as well for ad free? that's a few bucks cheaper than getting both separate ad free so seems like a likely price point.

now if they kept it at the current hulu price of $10/$18 for both would be nice but you know this gives them a good reason to double the price.

FXX ceased to exist, but not really depending on your market? On Spectrum I saw new episodes of IASIP on just FX original this year. Even though it still often says in media it being an FXX exclusive. See this stuff is annoying, why did IASIP have to move off FX in the first place and then just stream a bunch of shows on Hulu likely.

This is my small rant just to say the two new episodes I saw were funny but everything is so splintered.

People hate monopolies until its convenient

What are the chances there will be another price hike?

Killmonger posted...

What are the chances there will be another price hike?

There would be one even without this integration. 100%.

Disnerama just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Here's what's happening:

• Fall 2025: Star on Disney+ (Canada, Latin America/Caribbean, Europe, Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, Taiwan area, South Korea, Australia/New Zealand), Disney+ Hotstar (Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia), and Hotstar-based plain Disney+ (South Africa, Arab countries, Israel, Philippines), as well as More Entertainment on Disney+ in Greece and Turkey, gets rebranded to Hulu, but will retain its current programming and everything. This means no The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball (which outside the U.S. is supposed to be on HBO Max, period).
• 2026: The standalone Hulu app in the United States is phased out. A new combined Disney+/Hulu app is planned for release in 2026. Hulu and Disney+ subscriptions will remain separate in the U.S.

misterbum posted...

Cant wait to get my Sunny fix on the D+ app

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/6/62f297f1.jpg

Its on there right now

And options diminish more, as the path to monopoly grows.

Killmonger posted...

What are the chances there will be another price hike?

very high

deanshow posted...

Its on there right now

Ah, see that now. I only had one profile set up and it had rating restrictions on since my kid uses the app. I just created a separate profile though and now see access to all the Hulu stuff

deanshow posted...

Its on there right now

Imagine, a bird princess.

Charged151 posted...

Nah. Peacock has it beat. Crashes often, nonexistent display controls, and doesn't work on Linux due to horrible DRM implementation.

My vote goes to Paramount+. Terrible playback with constant lag and skipping on the Fire stick and the ads are over the top compared to any other streaming service.

Also I hate that I'll load up a gentle show for my kid like Peppa Pig and then the ads they show are for like tweens with violence and flashy action.

Hexenherz posted...

My vote goes to Paramount+. Terrible playback with constant lag and skipping on the Fire stick and the ads are over the top compared to any other streaming service.

Also I hate that I'll load up a gentle show for my kid like Peppa Pig and then the ads they show are for like tweens with violence and flashy action.

Lots of horrible streaming platforms.

Damn

So basically the legacy companies bought the competition that had potential to replace them. Then absorbed it completely to then replace the new companies brand with the old legacy brand

I find it very concerning that most of these companies are gating their 4K HDR and Dolby Vision streams behind the top plans and don't really lay this out very clearly.

The average person buying the basic tier with or even without ads is not getting good quality for what they pay.

So what does that mean for Hulu + live tv?

Makes sense. Hasn't Hulu only ever been in the US? The entire rest of the world only has Disney Plus and they might as well consolidate. Instead of having an unnecessary extra service in just 1 country

every black friday they offer a deal where you only pay $1 a month for 12 months

im gonna miss that

With every day we just get closer and closer to just having cable again.

2Pacavelli posted...

Damn

So basically the legacy companies bought the competition that had potential to replace them. Then absorbed it completely to then replace the new companies brand with the old legacy brand

Hulu was never an independent company. From the beginning it was started by Fox and Universal (2007), with Disney joining them fairly early on (2009). Then when Disney bought Fox (2019) they became the majority owner, and now they've purchased the remaining percentage from Comcast (who themselves now own Universal).

CRON posted...

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. According to a Disney rep, customers will still be able to buy a stand-alone Hulu subscription

So...it's not really going anywhere then...

BlueBoy675 posted...

Im fine with this. I already just use Hulu through the Disney app anyway

This and ESPN+ for me

Last time I checked Disney+ had Heat on it so I doubt there will be any major catalog changes from Hulu. Which means the only shit worth watching on either (FX shows) will still be on there at least.

Killmonger posted...

What are the chances there will be another price hike?

1000%