The streaming landscape will forever be changed with recent information being revealed that Hulu era of being a standalone is coming to a close. According to Screenrant, Disney has made an announcement thatthey plan to discontinue its joint collaboration and will fully merge Hulu with its own services. To prepare international markets for the shift, Hulu will replace the Star hub in Disney+ starting October 8, 2025. The reason behind the merge is that some of the series within Hulu are geared towards a more mature audience.

Reported by Screenrant, it was reported by Disney that viewers within the U.S.,”will begin to see further integrations of Hulu across the Disney+ app as part of an ongoing and iterative slate of product updates on the homepage and beyond.” The replacement plan is expected to start around sometime in 2026, and while the process is started viewers are able to choose separate plans between the streaming services.

The decision is a strategic one, aiming to simplify the user experience, reducing subscriber churn (when customers drop a service), and creating operational efficiencies by moving to a single tech platform.Stated by Screenrant, Disney mentions that new features will be added within the apps, stating that “these enhancements are just the beginning, with additional updates planned in the lead-up to the launch of a unified app experience next year.” The features will include tabs regarding on the subscription the viewers purchase, tags to showcase new content and a live hub.

According to Screenrant, starting on October 21, payment plans of Disney+ increases from 9.99 per month to 11.99 per month, and the ad-free version be 18.99. At the same time,Hulu’s ad-supported tier will also have the same increase. At this time viewers can still view the vast library of content of the platforms which includes Only Murders in the Building, Daredevil: Born Again, High Potential and Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.