The Walt Disney Co. DIS will launch the merged Disney+ Hulu app in beta next month (December). The unified Disney+ Hulu experience will be available to subscribers of both the services, CEO Bob Iger said during the company's September quarter earnings call.
What Happened: Iger has good news for Disney+ and Hulu subscribers – a unified app experience will be rolled out in December, bringing content from both services in a single app.
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The merged Disney+ Hulu app will be made available to subscribers of both services, starting in the US. Note that you will have to subscribe to both services or subscribe to the Disney+ and Hulu bundle that starts at $9.99 per month with ads or $19.99 without ads.
Currently, even the bundle subscribers have to use Disney+ and Hulu separately. However, as part of the Mouse House's strategy to reduce costs and subscriber churn, the company is moving fast to merge both services.
This is also in line with Iger's promise to roll out a "one-app experience" for US subscribers – the company set a "end of 2023" deadline to merge Disney+ and Hulu.
"We remain on track to roll out a more unified one-app experience domestically, making extensive general entertainment content available to bundle subscribers via Disney+," Iger said.
The Disney+ Hulu unified app will launch in beta next month, with the official launch expected in Spring 2024 (by late March).
Why It Matters: Disney is on track to complete the purchase of Comcast Corp.'s CMCSA 33% stake in Hulu – the Mouse House will pay $8.6 billion towards this.
This comes at a time when Disney has been stumbling with its content strategy amidst Iger's massive cost-cutting spree. Iger even admitted to a fall in quality standards, saying, "we lost some focus".
Although Disney+ gained 7 million core subscribers, its Indian arm has been bleeding subscribers for several quarters now, sparking talks of a sell-off to India's richest person, Mukesh Ambani.
The Disney+ Hulu merged app could also pave the way for Hulu's expansion beyond the US, helping the company attract new subscribers and strengthen its bottom line.
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