Disney Plus and Hulu’s one-app experience is launching in beta

[Karlston]

If you’re subscribed to the Disney Plus and Hulu bundle, you’ll see a new option to stream Hulu from the Disney Plus app.

Hulu now has its own tile on Disney Plus for bundle subscribers.

Image: Disney

 

Disney is rolling out the beta version of its combined Disney Plus and Hulu experience today. The new hub, called Hulu on Disney Plus, puts content from both services on the Disney Plus app.

 

If you’re subscribed to a Disney Plus and Hulu bundle, you’ll see a new Hulu card that appears next to the Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic titles at the very top of Disney Plus’ interface. Selecting the Hulu option will bring you to a “Hulu Hub,” where you’ll gain access to the thousands of movies and TV shows available through the service. The experience is also available to people who subscribe to Disney Plus and Hulu separately, as long as both accounts are associated with the same email address.

 

I found that I already had access to Hulu after I updated the Disney Plus app on my TV. The new experience looks very similar to how things are set up on Disney Plus, but it doesn’t feel complete just yet. It still doesn’t have a sidebar for quick access to different categories, like movies, series, originals, or your watchlist.

Hulu on Disney Plus doesn’t include Hulu’s full library.

Image: Disney

 

I also noticed that Hulu on Disney Plus doesn’t give me a “continue watching” queue. When I selected a show I had already watched several episodes of, it didn’t start where I left off in the standalone Hulu app. Hopefully, Disney will sync watch history and progress between apps before the hub officially launches in the spring of 2024. Disney notes the beta testing period should give parents enough time to tweak controls and make kid-friendly profiles.

 

The new hub “is not a replacement” for the standalone Hulu or Disney apps, according to Disney, and the two apps will remain “as separate offerings.” Hulu with Live TV and Premium add-ons will also only be available in the standalone Hulu app, as will the “full Hulu SVOD content library.” It’s still not clear how many shows or movies are getting left out of the Hulu on Disney Plus experience. However, Variety says titles like Modern Family and Love Island won’t get carried over due to licensing restrictions.

 

The entertainment giant first announced it was launching Hulu on Disney Plus beta in the US last November — an experience users in other countries already have. Joe Earley, Disney’s president of direct-to-consumer, says the company’s goal for the one-app experience “is to inspire Disney+ and Hulu standalone subscribers to upgrade to the Bundle as well, once they see everything that can be accessed.”

 

With both Disney Plus and Hulu going up in price, the bundled plans are starting to become a more affordable — and accessible — option for viewers.

 

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