According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney+ and Hulu are planning to integrate into one app streaming service for the first quarter of 2024. During the recent Disney quarterly earnings call CEO Bob Iger (One Day at Disney) said that the company will start to integrate Hulu into Dinsey+. This will start in December for users who have the Disney Bundle Subscription. This integration is due to Disney’s recent accomplishment of gaining full control of Hulu after buying out the stakes that Comacast had.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Iger said on the call that by March 2024, “We’re on track to roll out one-app experience on Disney+.” This means many series originals seen on Hulu will find a new home in the new Hulu on Disney+ option. Some of the Hulu originals include The Bear and Only Murders in the Building, and even ABC’s Abbott Elementary.
Iger said, “We are bullish about the future of our streaming business. Imagine the opportunities a combined Disney+, Hulu and ESPN streaming experience can offer us as a company and consumers.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Iger has seen some demos of the integrated Disney+ and Hulu and has said, “I feel really good” about how it looks. The beta for the integrated bundle will be for parents to be able to set up any parental controls needed for the more adult programming from Hulu. This will all lead up to the official release of the app by the end of March.
With the one app experience, Iger said, “We have opportunities with upsell capabilities and increasing engagement.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Iger sounded more optimistic when it came to Disney’s linear television business. This is different from how he was in the company’s previous call in August.
He said, “We’re finding linear is a little stronger than we expected it to be. It’s not back as much as we’d like, it’s still challenged, but it’s not as bad as it had been.”
The beta for the integration of Hulu and Dinsey+ will start in December with the full app releasing by the end of March 2024.