Disney+ and Hulu Will Soon Be Merged Into One App

Prepare for your favorite shows on Hulu to be accessed on Disney+ and vis versa.

That’s right, the popular streaming apps have decided to merge together as one app.

Disney’s CEO Bob Iger recently announced the news of the two apps combing both of their streaming content together as one.

“While we continue to offer Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ as standalone options, this is a logical progression of our DTC offerings that will provide greater opportunities for advertisers,” Bob Iger mentioned during Disney’s quarterly earnings call, “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. The advertising potential of this combined platform is incredibly exciting.“
Bob Iger

However, there is the fact that Comcast still owns a third of Hulu.

While Disney+ does own the the majority of Hulu, there are two options that could occur because of the merger.

One, Comcast could use its put option to make Disney buy the remaining third come January of next year or two, Disney+ may also use their buy option to force Comcast to sell the part of Hulu they own.

If Disney does pursue the option of buying Comcast’s one-third of the company, they’ll need to shell out $9 billion to do so.

As for right now, Bob Iger most recently explained that Disney has not yet made a decision on whether they prefer to buy Comcast’s one-third of Hulu or not.

Although what he is positive on, is joining forces with Hulu.

“I mentioned that the first earnings call that I did after I came back that everything was on the table. And in fact, everything was on the table,” Iger explained. “But I’ve now had another three months to really study this carefully and figure out what is the best path for us to grow this business and it’s clear that a combination of the content that is on Disney+ with general entertainment is a very strong combination from a subscriber perspective, from a subscriber acquisition-subscriber retention perspective and also from an advertiser perspective.”
Bob Iger