Merged Disney+ and Hulu App to Launch as Beta Next Month

Disney, which is in the process of completing its purchase of NBCUniversal’s 33 percent stake in Hulu, will begin beta testing a combined Disney+ and Hulu bundle next month for subscribers of both services, according to CEO Bob Iger. Last week, Disney announced it would pay Comcast at least $8.61 billion for the Hulu stake, indicating the final cost could be higher, based on market value estimates by each party’s investment bankers. “We remain on track to roll out a more unified one-app experience domestically via Disney+,” Iger said in discussing the September quarter on an earnings call.

“A beta version of the Disney+/Hulu app will launch in December for subscribers of the two-service bundle — giving parents time to set up parental controls, according to Iger, who explained that Disney+ customers will be able to access adult-oriented Hulu content — ahead of the official launch in spring 2024 (around late March),” Variety reports.

Disney “expects Hulu on Disney+ to result in increased engagement, greater ad revenue, reduce customer-acquisition costs and lower churn,” according to Variety.

“The combined app is meant to put content from both Disney+ and Hulu in one place, which some countries outside the U.S. already have,” writes The Verge, observing that “even as Disney implemented price hikes across its streaming services in October, Disney+ surpassed 150 million global subscribers this quarter.”

In the wake of Netflix’s password crackdown, Disney is planning its own sweep to thwart password sharing, The Verge explains, adding “it’s still not clear when it will happen, but Iger noted that its ‘planned rollout’ won’t have a ‘meaningful impact’ on its streaming business until 2025.”

Disney’s Q3 earnings exceeded expectations in part to continued theme park growth and ESPN+ profit. Meanwhile, Disney+ grew by 7 million new subscribers from the previous quarter, CNBC reports.

“Our results this quarter reflect the significant progress we’ve made over the past year,” Iger, who retook the reins at Disney in November 2022, said in the company’s earnings release.

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