Say goodbye to the Hulu app.
The longtime streamer — which launched in the United States in 2007, the same year streaming giant Netflix started its streaming services — is being phased out by Disney, which has been acquiring a majority stake of the platform for the last several years from Comcast.
Here’s what to know.
The news
On Wednesday, August 6, Disney announced it is “fully integrating” the Hulu service, which it now owns 100%, into its flagship Disney+ streamer, per Variety.
A new “unified” Disney+ and Hulu streaming app will be available next year, the company added.
Speaking on the media giant’s quarterly earnings, CEO Bob Iger and CFO Hugh Johnston, in prepared commentary, said: “Today we are announcing a major step forward in strengthening our streaming offering by fully integrating Hulu into Disney+.”
© Getty“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,” they added.
Disney execs further shared: “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.”
© InstagramWhat this means for you
Per Variety, customers will still be able to buy a stand-alone Hulu subscription, as well as a stand-alone Disney+ plan.
Right now, Hulu’s ad-supported plan costs $9.99 a month, while their stand-alone, ad-free plan is $18.99 a month. Their priciest plan, which is ad-free, and includes live TV, Disney+ and ESPN (with ads), which Disney also owns, is $95.99 a month.
© Disney+Disney+ offers a series of bundles that include Hulu, ESPN and HBO Max, which is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, among them a $10.99 a month plan for Disney+ and Hulu.
Moreover, Hulu’s live TV subscribers will be migrated over to Fubo, under a proposed joint venture majority-owned by Disney, after a merger was inked by the company earlier this year.
