Disney began a new era in the streaming industry with the announcement of a unified streaming platform, marking the retirement of its standalone app, Hulu.
The Walt Disney Company confirmed that it will fully integrate Hulu into Disney+ by 2026, phasing out the independent streaming platform.
The decision marks the end of a 20-year run for one of streaming’s pioneering platforms but aims to position Disney for a more unified and competitive future.
Disney+ integrating Hulu marks a paradigm shift in how you will access and organise your favourite content.
The age of multitasking, where users alternate between apps to switch between family-friendly content on Disney and mature content on Hulu, is gone.
By 2026, the entire Hulu catalogue, including its highly rated original productions such as The Handmaid's Tale and subsequent-day television episodes, will be stored in a unified Disney+ interface.
This will consolidate your watchlist and viewing patterns, so that Hulu becomes a hub or branded tile within the Disney+ platform, just like the current organisation of Marvel and Star Wars content.
To foreign audiences, this will be all the more amplified by the fact that the existing hub with Star will be fully rebranded as Hulu on Disney+, providing viewers around the world with a more consistent experience under the familiar Hulu brand.
Although the viewing experience becomes leaner, the financial aspect is inclined towards increased costs and restructuring of the subscription policy.
This organisational shift is accompanied by massive price jumps in the streaming offerings of Disney, with ad-free Disney+ surging to $ 19.99 a month and Hulu + Live TV increasing by $7, a significant amount, to $ 90.99 a month.
The company's long-term strategy appears to be shifting consumers towards packages instead of individual subscriptions, and the Disney Bundle, comprising Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, becomes even more appealing in the context of comparative value.
Looking back to the completion of the integration by 2026, it is probable that the final product will be a unique and fully inclusive subscription containing all Disney and Hulu content at a higher cost that reflects the convenience of having it under one roof.