Hulu content material is coming to Disney Plus later this yr

Proper on the heels of Warner Bros. Discovery asserting that HBO Max and Discovery Plus are merging into a brand new service known as Max, Disney has revealed its personal plan to convey Hulu content material to Disney Plus. In an earnings name on Wednesday, Disney CEO Bob Iger stated that the corporate will quickly launch a “one-app expertise” within the US, bringing a portion of the exhibits and flicks which might be obtainable on Hulu within the US to the Disney Plus streaming service.

“Whereas we’ll proceed to supply Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ as standalone choices,” Iger stated on Wednesday. “This can be a logical development of our [direct-to-consumer] choices that can present higher alternatives for advertisers whereas giving bundle subscribers entry to extra strong and streamlined content material, leading to higher viewers engagement and finally resulting in a extra unified streaming expertise.”

Iger additionally introduced that the costs of each the ad-free Disney Plus subscription ($10.99/month) in addition to the ad-supported tier ($7.99/month) will enhance within the coming months. He didn’t say by how a lot. It’s price noting that Disney raised charges on each companies final yr.

Disney already provides quite a lot of bundles containing its three streaming companies (Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus). The Duo Fundamental bundle consists of Disney Plus with advertisements and Hulu with advertisements, however the apps are nonetheless separate. Presumably, when the “one-app expertise” arrives, Hulu content material will probably be obtainable to stream inside the Disney Plus app.

Many different nations have already got a model of this expertise. Disney Plus incorporates a “Star” content material hub in Canada, Africa, Europe, and Asia, which hosts exhibits from channels like ABC, FX, and Freeform, in addition to motion pictures from twentieth Century Studios, Searchlight Photos, Touchstone Photos, and extra. It’s principally Hulu inside Disney Plus.

Within the meantime, Disney has to resolve whether or not or to not make Comcast promote its 33% stake in Hulu. As Iger stated in March (by way of Selection), the streaming business “could be very, very difficult proper now, and earlier than we make any huge choices about our stage of funding, our dedication to that enterprise, we need to perceive the place it might go.”