Last year, Disney announced plans to shutter the stand-alone Hulu app, in favor of folding it fully into Disney+. However, for the near future, it looks like that’s not happening. Last week, Disney announced that for now, Hulu will still be available as both a separate subscription from Disney+, as well as its own app.
Disney’s having delays in fully integrating both streaming services’ backends. However, they’ve announced a few new features. Hulu profiles can now be linked to Disney+, importing Hulu watchlists, viewer history, and recommendations. This only applies to adult Hulu profiles, per the “18+” mention in Ars Technica’s article. While one of Hulu’s weaker points is its children’s programming catalog, it does carry the 2010s-era Cartoon Network shows (“Steven Universe,” “Craig of the Creek,” etc.). Hulu programs on Disney+ are now also included in the choice of profile avatars, including characters from “Futurama,” “Family Guy,” and “Only Murders in the Building.”
Of course, Hulu is now a part of Disney+ outside the US (replacing the old “Star” category), so the rest of the world’s used to both services together. All of this just applies to the United States.
Reasons to keep Hulu standalone
There’s several reasons I can think of to justify keeping Hulu a standalone service.
Not everyone wants Disney+
Hulu’s strengths mainly lie in adult-oriented programming, with less emphasis on major franchises. Those that just want “Prey,” “Abbott Elementary,” or “Fire Island” and don’t have children or care about “Star Wars”/Marvel/Disney animation might not want to pay for two services. That said, the Disney Bundle at this point is only $1 more than just buying Hulu by itself; with ads, it’s $12 (Hulu) vs. $13 (Hulu/Disney+), and without ads, it’s $19 (Hulu) vs. $20 (Hulu/Disney+). Unless you really don’t want Disney+ or you get Hulu at a steep discount (see below), it’s not worth buying standalone Hulu at this point.
That said, Hulu’s started to carry a handful of content from the Disney+ catalog, including the “Star Wars” movies, Disney Jr. shows like “Spidey and His Amazing Friends,” and popular films like “Toy Story.” So those with just Hulu aren’t completely missing out on Disney+ fare.
Cheap deals
Traditionally, Hulu often had discounts, either by being bundled with other services or during sales. For the latter, Hulu traditionally offered a steep $1 a month Black Friday discount. However, the switch to de-emphasize standalone Hulu has seen most of these discounts go away, in favor of Disney Bundle sales instead. For instance, last year’s Black Friday saw the Disney Bundle on sale for $5 a month for a year. The Disney Bundle also sees occasional sales through the year, though usually for shorter periods of time.
Hulu with ads is lucrative
The vast majority of Hulu’s subscribers are for its ad-based tier. Ads are lucrative for streaming services; while Disney+ also has ads, Disney’s certainly glad to see Hulu’s ad revenue flow in.
Conclusion
Hulu’s one of the longtime mainstay streaming services in the US, alongside Netflix and Prime Video. While it now has close integration with Disney+, the standalone tier still has some life left.
Do any of you subscribe to Hulu, alone or with Disney+?
Image: Hulu and Disney+ logos. (Disney)
