Remember when Disney said it would soon roll out a “one-app experience” for Disney+ and Hulu? Well, it’s starting to happen, albeit only in beta for now.
In a blog post, Disney announced that subscribers to the Disney Bundle would begin seeing the “Hulu on Disney+” beta in the Disney+ app, a prelude to the official launch coming in spring 2024.
Now, when bundle subscribers open the Disney+ app, they’ll see a prominent Hulu tile at the top of the screen. Tap or click the tile, and you’ll jump to the Hulu Hub, where you’ll find a selection of top Hulu content ranging from Only Murderers in the Building and The Kardashians to The Bear and Abbot Elementary.
Disney says the current “Hulu on Disney+” experience is just a “limited” beta designed to help the conglomerate “better understand the consumer’s needs and wants” before the full version launches next March.
The beta will also give parents the change to tweak their parental settings in light of Hulu’s more adult-oriented programming, the blog post adds.
The Disney Bundle starts at $9.99 a month for the ad-supported versions of Disney+ and Hulu, while the ad-free version of that bundle goes for $19.99/month. There is also a Disney Bundle with Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ for $14.99 a month (with ads) or $24.99/month (ad-free).
Disney first announced its intention to launch a “one-app experience” for Disney+ and Hulu back in May.
The idea behind the combined offering is to “provide greater opportunities for advertisers while giving bundle subscribers access to more robust and streamlined content, resulting in greater audience engagement and ultimately leading to a more unified streaming experience,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger at the time.
In the meantime, Disney has begun paying Comcast for the latter’s 33-percent stake in Hulu, with Disney already owning the other 66 percent.
OK, so is Disney+ going to eventually assimilate Hulu completely? That’s the big question.
For now, Disney insists that both Disney+ and Hulu will remain available as standalone apps. Also, Hulu + Live TV will still reside only in the Hulu app.
But we are starting to see more streaming services gobble up each other, from Paramount+ and Showtime to Max and Discovery+ (the latter of which is still available on a standalone basis).
Of course, Disney may see good reason to keep the Hulu brand, if only to differentiate its more grownup content from that of family-friendly Disney fare. Still, time will tell.
