The massive tech and entertainment giant, Disney, is set to deliver a merged app experience, centering on the Hulu on Disney+ experience soon coming to beta testing by next month. This came after the recent buyout by the Walt Disney Company of Hulu's remaining minority stake from Comcast and NBCUniversal, with the full ownership soon transferring to the renowned Big Tech.
Its major buyout of Comcast now centers on Hulu's arrival to the Disney+ experience, with an all-in-one app that will soon bring live TV streaming to the app.
Disney+ and Hulu App Merger is Coming to Beta Next Month
The Walt Disney Company's Q4 2023 earnings call took place today, and among the many announcements and updates, its CEO, Bob Iger, has taken this time to reveal Hulu on Disney+'s beta coming soon next month. This will center on the merged app experience of both streaming platforms, and this was after the news regarding the company's buyout of Comcast's 33 percent stake.
Disney has been the majority owner of Hulu for four years now, after its 20th Century Fox acquisition, but the chance to buy Comcast and Hulu from NBCUniversal opened up over the past week.
The beta is set to bring both Hulu and Disney+ content for subscribers, but there have been no announcements regarding its price and region availability.
Here's What to Expect for Hulu and Disney+'s Future
It is widely known that Hulu is only available in the United States, so this may mean that the beta app will center on the region combining it with Disney+. Moreover, Iger revealed that the full experience may arrive starting early Spring 2024, with the focus of this beta being for parents to set up content controls now that Hulu is coming to Disney+.
The $8.6 billion deal that centers on Disney+ and Hulu's merger is expected to close next year, with their experiences seeing a significant combination as early as December.
Disney+ and Hulu: Streaming to the Top?
Back in the second quarter of this year, the Disney CEO announced an upcoming combined experience of Disney+ and Hulu for the world, centering on a new platform to deliver this. It was originally claimed by Iger and the company that this new app would arrive by the end of 2023, and it is already November now when the massive acquisition was announced.
As the Hulu platform's majority stakeowner since 2019, Disney has also controlled massive operations of the streaming platform, centering on its content and prices. Earlier this year, as part of its "cost-cutting" measures, the company stripped dozens of shows and content in both Disney+ and Hulu, and this also came alongside the price increase on both platforms.
With Disney+ soon featuring a merged Hulu experience, users will soon experience an all-in-one streaming app with combined on-demand and live content available for subscribers. The beta for the merged Hulu on Disney+ is coming by December, but the company has yet to announce where this test will take place and how much would the subscription be for interested users.