Disney+ Is About to Swallow the Hulu App Whole
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Hulu fans might soon find themselves turning to Disney+ to get their fix of The Handmaid’s Tale or Only Murders in the Building. Now that the House of Mouse has full ownership of the streaming service, it looks like it’s planning to eliminate the standalone Hulu app experience and have only one app to rule them all.
Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed the plans to bring Hulu into the fold during the company’s earnings call today, announcing a unified app that will combine “all of the program assets” of Disney+ and Hulu under one digital roof. “You’re going to end up with a far better consumer experience when those apps are combined,” Iger said.
Although he stopped short of announcing any plans to nix the standalone Hulu app, it seems likely that even if it’s not pulled immediately, the company will likely let it fade into obscurity after a sufficient transition period to push subscribers over to the new unified app.
Today we are announcing a major step forward in strengthening our streaming offering by fully integrating Hulu into Disney+. 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.
Disney CEO Bob Iger and CFO Hugh Johnston
Even if Disney ties everything into one app, it doesn’t appear to have any plans to force customers to subscribe to both services. Disney offers Disney+ and Hulu as a bundle, but both can still be purchased separately, and a spokesperson told Variety that customers will still be able to buy standalone subscriptions to each service.
While Hulu has had a long and storied corporate ownership history, the service came under full Disney ownership earlier this year, which is likely what precipitated this move to integrate it more tightly into the company’s portfolio.
Hulu began its life in 2007 as a strategic partnership between 21st Century Fox (then known as News Corporation), NBC Universal, and a private equity firm, Providence Equity Partners. It was intended to compete with the likes of YouTube and the then-fledgling Netflix by providing an ad-supported streaming platform to avoid losing cord-cutters.
Disney joined the consortium in 2009, bringing content from ABC and other Disney-owned channels into the fold. However, that came at a significant price for the other two major partners. The Walt Disney Company acquired a significant enough stake in the platform to become an equal player, which created a complicated management arrangement with each media conglomerate vying for its own interests.
However, when Disney picked up 21st Century Fox in 2019, it gained the Fox share, giving it a majority ownership of Hulu at around 60%. From there, it began acquiring more pieces of the streaming service, starting with AT&T selling it the 9.5% share it had picked up from Time Warner. Comcast continued to hold the remaining stake through NBCUniversal, but also entered into an agreement that would give Disney complete operational control and allow the media giant to buy its stake as early as January 2024.
Disney started that process in late 2023, and as of June 2025, Hulu is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Disney paid about $9 billion to acquire Comcast’s stake, which was about $4 billion less than Comcast’s asking price — a final number that was determined through third-party arbitration after a comprehensive valuation stage.
The new deal also means that Disney is free to expand Hulu into a global entertainment brand. Iger announced that this fall, it will replace the “Star” service that’s offered on Disney+ outside of the US. It also plans to launch its standalone ESPN streaming service in the US on August 21 for $29.99 per month to provide access to all of ESPN’s linear networks.
