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Mickey Mouse and Love Island will soon live under the same roof. The Walt Disney Co. announced Wednesday its plans to sunset the stand-alone Hulu streaming app and integrate that content into the entertainment company’s flagship Disney+ app.
The news of the integration came during Disney’s third-quarter earnings report and is part of the company’s ongoing focus on streaming entertainment, including an upcoming Aug. 21 release of an ESPN streaming service.
“The company is taking major steps forward in streaming with the upcoming launch of ESPN’s direct-to-consumer service, our just-announced plans with the NFL, and our forthcoming integration of Hulu into Disney+, creating a truly differentiated streaming proposition that harnesses the highest-caliber brands and franchises, general entertainment, family programming, news, and industry-leading sports content,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in the report.
While Hulu isn’t disappearing as a brand, it’s set to fold into the existing platform. This quarter, Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions grew to 183 million, up by 2.4 million from the previous quarter. Despite growth in subscriptions and beating earnings projections, the entertainment giant’s stock was down 2% at the time of publishing.
Hulu was initially founded in 2007 as a joint venture between 21st Century Fox (then News Corp.) and NBCUniversal, with the Walt Disney Co. and others later joining as stakeholders.
Disney acquired 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets in 2019, giving the company a controlling interest in the streaming platform ahead of Disney+’s debut that November. Since then, Disney has tried to acquire the remaining 33% stake in Hulu owned by Comcast (which bought NBCUniversal). In June of this year, both companies reached an agreement, with Disney set to pay $439 million to take full control of the platform.
A Hulu integration into the existing app had already been teased back in 2023, when Disney rolled out a beta version featuring Hulu’s content inside the Disney+ app.
Users outside of the U.S. might already be familiar with Hulu’s programming available on the Disney+ app, under the tile “Star+.”
Until last year, Star+ served Latin America with its stand-alone app and platform featuring shows from FX, ABC, Hulu originals, and more. The stand-alone app folded into Disney+ last July, integrating as a tile within the app. Starting in the fall, the Star+ tile will be replaced in Disney’s international markets by Hulu’s logo.
Additionally, improvements to the existing app are underway, the company revealed during their earnings call.
“Over the coming months, we will be implementing improvements within the Disney+ app, including exciting new features and a more personalized homepage,” Iger said. “All of which will culminate with the unified Disney+ and Hulu streaming app experience that will be available to consumers next year.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maria Jose Gutierrez Chavez is the editorial fellow at Inc. and Fast Company. Before joining Mansueto Ventures, she interned at The Boston Globe, El Economista, and The Architect’s Newspaper.