Entertainment
Disney is in the process of winding down Hulu’s standalone app and service as it fully integrates Hulu into Disney+. But at the same time, the Mouse House is doubling down on the Hulu brand — including taking it global.
As of Oct. 8, Hulu will become the global general entertainment brand on Disney+ in non-U.S. markets, replacing the Star tile. With the change, and in preparation for what Disney is promising will be a “fully integrated unified app experience” in 2026, Disney+ customers “will begin to see further integrations of Hulu across the Disney+ app as part of an ongoing and iterative slate of product updates on the homepage and beyond,” the company announced Thursday.
Swapping out Star with Hulu will help increase awareness outside the U.S. that Disney+ has a large catalog of content that appeals to adults, according to Disney — and it also means that the company’s investment in marketing and social media promotion for Hulu will now be applied worldwide.
Popular on Variety
According to Disney, the Star-to-Hulu rebranding isn’t just about a brand-tile switchover: The company says it is also making it even easier to discover Hulu content and more on Disney+.
Disney+ over the next few weeks will introduce “a more visual home screen,” as well as more intuitive navigation and more personalized recommendations. “These enhancements are just the beginning, with additional updates planned in the lead-up to the launch of a unified app experience next year,” Disney said.
The changes come after Disney completed the full acquisition of Hulu in a deal with Comcast this June. In 2026, Disney expects to fully merge Hulu into Disney+. According to Disney, in the U.S. you will still be able to purchase Disney+ and Hulu as standalone plans. At this point, Disney has not set a sunset date for the Hulu app.
Here’s a rundown of new features coming to Disney+ on TV devices:
- A new navigation bar is being added to the top of the homepage. The new “For You” tab is the first screen subscribers will see when they click into Disney+, which will be “the new home base for recommended viewing,” powered by an updated algorithm that learns user preferences over time. There are also tabs for Disney+, Hulu and ESPN, depending on each user’s subscription.
- The Live hub in the main vertical navigation takes viewers to the latest live news, sports and events, as well as the 24/7 Streams on Disney+.
- The Disney+ user interface will feature a “more modern design that brings our characters and stories front and center,” according to Disney. That includes a new video display in the topmost “hero” carousel and a more dynamic brand row, showcasing the latest titles from each brand. In addition, content sets on Disney+ are being updated to showcase “more cinematic, poster-style artwork.”
- The UI will add new badging tags like “Season Finale,” “New Series” and “New Movie” to show what’s unique and timely right now.
- Disney+ will make Profiles more prominent across the UI. From there, users will find titles personally recommended for them based on their unique viewing habits.
In addition to the updates on connected-TV devices, Disney said it is “putting a lot of thought into enhancing the mobile experience.” For example, the Disney+ iOS app is launching Widgets, which will “add another front door to take users directly into our programming with one click,” the company said.
In the U.S., Disney has set price hikes that will take effect Oct. 21 for most of its Disney+, Hulu and ESPN plans and bundles. For example, the standalone Disney+ with ads tier is rising from $9.99 to $11.99/month while the Disney+ Premium (without ads) is going from $15.99 to $18.99/month. The Hulu standalone plan with ads is increasing from $9.99 to $11.99/month as of the same date; the premium version of Hulu with no ads will remain at $18.99 per month.
Disney released an animation showing the new Disney+ UI integrated with Hulu in action:
Read More
Todd Spangler