Disney’s Mixed Message with Hulu
The Walt Disney Company just announced quite the mixed message the other day.
On the one hand, Hulu will dial up its international presence by…finally getting an internet presence.
Walt Disney Company
But on the other hand, Disney+ will replace the Hulu app, raising questions about Hulu’s future.
Yeah, this one’s weird. Let’s discuss Disney’s mixed message with Hulu.
The Good and the Bad
Photo: Fox
A few years ago, Disney did something brilliant in the aftermath of the Fox acquisition.
Disney suddenly found itself in control of Hulu, having gained a two-thirds controlling interest.
However, Disney also gained the assets comprising Star and Hotstar, two other streaming services.
Even describing this one as bloody is an understatement, which I know painfully well from my media podcast, Streaming into the Void.
Photo:Indian Express
My podcast partner and I spent 18 months talking over each other about Star and Hotstar.
Only later did we realize that he was familiar with Hotstar, and I wasn’t familiar with Star. It was that confusing.
Photo: Bank rate
So, let’s stick with the basics. When Fox owned these media rights, it focused on international markets.
After Disney acquired all the media rights, it ran them as unique international entities.
Photo: Wikimedia
Star covers most of the world, save for the United States, Russia, and India.
Hotstar has proven dominant in India, albeit at a high cost to Disney, which merged the business with JioCinema.
Comcast
All of these Machiavellian business moves occurred for a simple reason.
Disney didn’t want to pay Comcast more. Seriously, we’ve had five years of streaming chaos because of it.
Disney/Comcast/Hulu
Comcast owned the other third of Hulu, and the two corporations bitterly debated its value.
During these negotiations, ultimately settled after extensive arbitration, Disney made a choice.
Comcast
The company refused to amplify the international popularity of Hulu.
Had Disney done that, it’d owe Comcast MUCH more money than the $9.6 billion it eventually paid.
So, this decision was purely financial, but it negatively impacted Disney’s entire global streaming brand.
The Oddity of Hulu
Hulu
Americans will struggle to understand this statement, but Hulu is a virtual unknown internationally.
Sure, some folks have heard the term, but they only possess the vaguest understanding of Hulu.
Photo: Disney+
That’s because they have Star, which, at its heart, is Hulu by a different name.
Star streams content from Disney’s content vault, including that of Hulu, which is objectively funny.
STAR
Basically, Star stole Hulu’s schtick by offering television programming from Freeform, 20th Century Studios, ABC Signature, Touchstone Pictures, and so forth.
Star really is the same thing as Hulu in all but name. The difference is that Comcast had no financial investment in Star.
Photo: simplemost.com
So, Disney could build that brand without fear of future compensation to its competitor.
Now, Disney has completed its full ownership purchase of Hulu, allowing a change in tactics.
STAR
With Comcast out of the picture, Disney can offer a more symmetrical streaming product worldwide.
The first step involves the collapse of Star in favor of Hulu. Worldwide, Hulu gets a promotion.
In the Disney+ app internationally, Hulu will replace Star as a tile on the streaming service. The writing is on the wall that the Star brand will die in favor of Hulu…but there’s a catch!
Photo: Forbes
Domestically, Disney+ will fully integrate Hulu. In the future, you won’t be able to distinguish their content.
The Disney+ app will contain everything, which it mostly does anyway.
Forbes
Disney streaming executives have been creating a runway for this move for years now.
Everyone knew it was coming, including frustrated Comcast executives who couldn’t do anything about it.
NPR
Disney intentionally deflated the value of Hulu in anticipation of the moment we’re about to reach.
What Happens to Hulu?
Image: The Healthy Mouse
Now, Hulu and Disney+ will become more than just a bundle. They combine for a super-mega app.
During the quarterly earnings call, Disney executives said as much. Here’s the quote:
Photo: Newsweek
“All of this work will culminate with the unified Disney+ and Hulu streaming app experience that will be available to consumers next year.”
Disney’s move raises questions as well, as we live in a world where bundling and streaming discounts are a thing.
Photo: simplemost.com
Also, Disney didn’t mention a word this week about its skinny bundle, Hulu + Live TV.
Remember Disney’s FuboTV deal? Yeah, that’s probably gonna be the soft landing spot for Hulu + Live TV.
Photo: Fubo
Folks, that’s how long these moves have been in the planning stages.
Whether the One True Disney+ App works or not, I admire how Disney has thought of everything.
Photo: Deadline
By consolidating, the company reduces the overwhelming amount of streaming service confusion in the world.
We’re going from Star, Hotstar, Hulu, Hulu + Live TV, ESPN+, and Disney+ to simpler terms.
Photo: ESPN
From now on, everyone in the world will know Disney+ as the home for Hulu, ESPN, and Disney+ content.
That’s the Disney Bundle in its final form, and it’s been in the planning stages since Disney bought Fox in 2019.
What’s Next?
Photo: Playbuzz.com
There’s some nebulous conversation to be had about Hulu’s future and the pricing of all the content.
Some people, upon hearing that Hulu will become a part of Disney+, immediately thought they’d pay less for streaming content.
I…wouldn’t expect that, although I admire the optimism of the people thinking it.
Disney has carefully plotted its digital future, and earning massive revenue is integral to those plans.
Photo: English Jargon
Any price cuts will prove temporary, as Disney views its app as the ultimate replacement for all linear television content.
The next version of Disney+ globally will be the true digital successor to cable television.
Photo: Getty Images/Ringer illustration
After six years of machinations, Disney+ has finally reached its endgame.
Nielsen Streaming Ratings
Wall Street Journal
This was a light week for Disney on the Nielsen Streaming Ratings.
Other than the usual suspects, not much was happening. So, I’m not doing a standalone article this week.
Photographer: Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images
I’ll just hitch the data to the bottom of the more impactful Hulu story and add one Zombies note at the end.
Here are Disney’s streaming hits for the week of July 7th – July 13th, 2025.
Photo: Disney+
- Bluey – 904 million viewer minutes
- Criminal Minds – 690 million viewer minutes
- Grey’s Anatomy – 677 million viewer minutes
- Bob’s Burgers – 661 million viewer minutes
- Family Guy – 633 million viewer minutes
- NCIS – 623 million viewer minutes
- The Bear – 578 million viewer minutes
- Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires – 274 million viewer minutes
Disney+
The latest Zombies film debuted on July 10th, making this just half a week of data.
So, I’d describe this performance as solid with the caveat that Nielsen streaming suffers that data flaw.
Disney
These totals don’t include second-screen viewing.
The target audience for Zombies is almost entirely second-screeners, the cord-nevers.
Photo: Disney
That’s why I presume the latest Zombies offering did even better than these numbers indicate.
As for The Bear, its rate of regression is a little more significant than what we tracked in season three.
Hulu
On the bright side, by the time season five rolls around, the fully integrated Disney+ should help it.
Disney can encourage viewers to binge and catch up just in time for what I presume will be the final season…for now.
Walt Disney Company
In the modern era, entertainment franchises never stay dead for long.
I mean, Zombies 4 is an ironic name if you think about it…
Photo: MickeyBlog
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Feature Photo: Photo: Getty Images/Ringer illustration
