The news: Disney will entirely fold Hulu content into Disney+ this year, establishing Disney+ as a unified hub for family programming, general entertainment, news, and sports, with Hulu functioning as the adult-content brand inside the main app.
Hulu remains a sizable-but-slowing business within Disney’s US streaming portfolio, which helps explain why the company is pushing toward full integration with Disney+ in 2026. But it’s worth noting that the Hulu brand isn’t being retired; Disney even touted its international launch in its end of year streaming recap.
Zooming out: EMARKETER forecasts show Hulu generating close to $12 billion annually by 2027 between subscription and ads but with limited momentum on both fronts; that financial profile helps clarify Disney’s rationale for consolidation.
Executives have framed the move as a way to reduce churn, encourage more bundle upgrades, and increase total time spent within Disney+ rather than relying on incremental Hulu subscriber growth. The numbers suggest the integration is not about abandoning Hulu, but about extracting greater value from an audience that is no longer expanding quickly on its own.
Why it matters: Disney’s decision to further fold Hulu into the Disney+ app was already underway, but the Netflix–Warner Bros. Discovery deal sharpens both the upside and the risks of that strategy.
- If Netflix succeeds in absorbing WBD’s studio and streaming assets, the streaming market will tilt even further toward a small set of scaled platforms with massive content libraries and growing pricing power.
- In that context, Disney’s priority must be maximizing time spent inside its own ecosystem. Folding Hulu’s general entertainment, next-day TV, and live programming more tightly into Disney+ gives Disney a stronger case that one subscription can satisfy more viewing occasions, reducing churn and increasing engagement.