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Disney is Nixing the Standalone Hulu App

GermanSuplex said:
Are they going to separate the content of each platform within the app? Sounds strange with the article mentioning you will still be able to subscribe to each service individually.
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If it is like in other countries then they'll have different subsections. E.g. here in aus we have disney, a section for star+, a section for espn. I guess they'd gate them individually behind different subscriptions.
Down here, it's all 1 subscription and you access (and pay for) everything even if you only wanted access to one thing.
 
GermanSuplex said:
Are they going to separate the content of each platform within the app? Sounds strange with the article mentioning you will still be able to subscribe to each service individually.
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They already do that. Hulu has its own section.

The only reason we have the Hulu app installed is because for most foreign-language shows the Disney+ app only has the dubbed versions. If you want to watch it in the original language (with subtitles), you have to find it in the Hulu app.
 
Johnny907 said:
Disney is out of its mind if it thinks the D+ brand is more valuable than Hulu.
Looks like I’ll be cancelling another streaming subscription shortly.
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Yeah... how dare they think the name DISNEY isn't as valuable as Hulu. They must be out of their minds to think that the name DISNEY is known anywhere in the world, being only the 7th most valuable brand on the planet. What a fumble. What has DISNEY ever done? That's right, nothing. Hulu is totally more valuable given its reach in only the US and Japan. Terrible move.
 
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GermanSuplex said:
Are they going to separate the content of each platform within the app? Sounds strange with the article mentioning you will still be able to subscribe to each service individually.
Click to expand...
That's the same strategy ESPN uses already. There is only one ESPN website for watching, but the content you can access will vary whether you are using included online content access you get for being an ESPN subscriber on a regular pay-TV service, or if your provider has ESPN3 in their customer benefits, or if you are personally a subscriber to the ESPN+ streaming service.

It's a real mess for people who man the phones for support lines for this stuff, because it's not very clear what content is authorized on what service, so people call thinking there is some game they can't stream and they should be able to (when they actually don't have that level of access). It's entirely deliberate on ESPN's part. It means the content you can't see is being advertised to you (like when you are looking at a pay TV on-screen guide and it shows the listings of channels you don't subscribe to). And since some of the content is dependent on the provider signing up for ESPN3 to be available for their customers, they now start pressuring their provider to spend that money.
 
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I been subscribed to ad free Hulu since 2015 and it has been great to watch It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and What We Do In The Shadows. Will be sad when the stand alone app is gone.

Reflecting back on it Hulu use to be awesome before ABC pulled all the game shows. Peacock pulled The Office and others. Ugh corporate greed.
 
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Johnny907 said:
Disney is out of its mind if it thinks the D+ brand is more valuable than Hulu.
Looks like I’ll be cancelling another streaming subscription shortly.
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You can't be serious to think that Hulu is a BIGGER name than DISNEY?!?!? What delusional world are you living in dude???
 
DerekEvans9859 said:
They have confirmed that Hulu+ Live TV will be on Disney+ next year
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I'm curious about the execution of this. Hulu+Live TV works for me because it has the old 20th century cable-style program guide so that I can quickly scroll through everything as it's happening. The new version of app and algorithm-based UI mostly eschews that. I have Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+, the latter of which can be a real bear to get through on weekends due to the sheer abundance of available sports and games. Either Iger is having Disney+ build something much smarter, or they're going to simply port over Hulu's UI and experience. Hulu IIRC is itself based on the tech stack from MLB, which helped pioneer streaming sports years ago.
 
mlayer said:
I'm curious about the execution of this. Hulu+Live TV works for me because it has the old 20th century cable-style program guide so that I can quickly scroll through everything as it's happening. The new version of app and algorithm-based UI mostly eschews that. I have Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+, the latter of which can be a real bear to get through on weekends due to the sheer abundance of available sports and games. Either Iger is having Disney+ build something much smarter, or they're going to simply port over Hulu's UI and experience. Hulu IIRC is itself based on the tech stack from MLB, which helped pioneer streaming sports years ago.
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They said they are currently working on new technology for new, more personalized Disney+ app. I'm definitely curious myself...
 
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ekwipt said:
Australia is also set to get hulu next year, i just read ina seperate report
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huh why?

We have star, which by my understanding is just what hulu would be. They use star branding in other countries around the world too; whereas hulu is pretty much the us.

edit:

oh ok, seems like they're rebranding star to hulu🤷‍♂️

Disney to launch streaming TV Hulu brand in Australia - Mediaweek

As Disney takes full ownership of Hulu, it is taking the service global, creating a single brand for its general entertainment offer.
www.mediaweek.com.au www.mediaweek.com.au

Not as big a deal for us since everyone just calls it disney+ and no one refers to it as star
 
I hope they add a download function to the Disney+ app for Hulu content. I prefer one app, but for Hulu content on Disney+ there isn't an option to download like there is on the Hulu app.
 
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A single app will be better. And since subscriptions can be bought separately, it should not be an issue. With Hulu existing only in the US and also Disney+ available in many regions, this seems like the right move.
 
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What sucks is that Hulu content is currently simply included within the Stars brand internationally and you did not have to pay extra, it was simply part of the D+ subscription. I am sure this will change with the Hulu-rebranding. May end up paying double for stuff that used to be included and they will try to sell it as a perk.
 
svish said:
A single app will be better. And since subscriptions can be bought separately, it should not be an issue. With Hulu existing only in the US and also Disney+ available in many regions, this seems like the right move.
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Except the rest of the world gets Star (kinda-sorta Hulu) bundled with Dismal+ (and AFAIK always has) so everything you see in the D+ app is included.

If there are separate subscriptions then, sure as eggs is eggs, whichever one you subscribe to, the app is going to try and sell you a subscription and mix the other content in recommendations, trailers, ads etc. and it will be just like Amazon Prime or (I’m sorry to say) AppleTV.

There’s no reason not to have separate apps - they can just be skins on the same code - other than encruddification in order to sell you stuff.
 
Well i have Disney/Hulu sub for the last 6 months as part of the Black friday $3.99 per month for a year plan. I like oth sort of but the UI on both could be better. And Ddisney needs to offer all of its back catalog on the app. Im pisswed that there here only 5 epiosdes of the orginal Mickey Mouse club from the 5-'s on the app and thats it! As for the 1970's version they only have one of the special and thats it! My God , they should have completely digitized the back catalog of All the Mickey Mouse Clubs before they app ever launched which seems a no brainer.
 
Disney+ launched in the US in November 2019 at $6.99/month (ad-free).

As of October 2024, it costs $9.99/month (with ads) or $15.99/month (ad-free).

Surely we can find a way to push that to $49/month. What are we, weaklings? $800 Disney charges for three SW LightSaber at the park. They’ll even ship them to you for an additional $40 so they aren’t confiscated at the airport. All because they love kids! 😂
 
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There biggest mistake is going to be putting Hulu content behind the Disney name. “Disney” is losing its magic when all you see are random adult tv titles around it. They need to keep them separate. This will be reversed in a few years.
 
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