Hulu’s Standalone Days Are Numbered as Disney+ Integration Accelerates in New Official Update

Hulu helped invent modern streaming, but the industry basically lapped it. Now Disney is finally doing what it has been hinting at for years: rolling Hulu into Disney+ in a way that actually feels like one service.

What is changing right now

Disney is pushing ahead with its Hulu/Disney+ mash-up, and the real unification happens in 2026, when both apps will run on a single back-end. That is the slightly nerdy infrastructure part that makes everything else possible.

In the meantime, some practical stuff is already live:

• If you subscribe to the Disney+ and Hulu bundle, you can now link your Hulu and Disney+ profiles so your watch history, recommendations, and other profile data live in one place. That unified profile runs inside the Disney+ app, and your Hulu watch progress carries over.
• Hulu-only subscribers can log in to Disney+ with their Hulu credentials. You will get the full Hulu library inside Disney+, plus a small sampling of Disney+ and ESPN titles. That sampler exists to nudge you toward the full bundle, which Disney is very much trying to sell.
• Limits to know about: profiles tied to add-on bundles like Hulu + Live TV (or similar bundles that include Max, etc.) cannot be synced yet. Also, Kids profiles or any profile flagged as under 18 will not link.

How we got here (the short version)

Hulu was the early streamer in the late 2000s, the place to catch big network shows on your computer the day after they aired. Then streaming ate TV, and Hulu lost momentum just as everyone else launched their own shiny apps.

Disney bought full control of Hulu in 2019, which immediately raised: Why keep two streamers if Disney+ is the crown jewel? For a while in the early 2020s, Disney drew a clean line: Disney+ for the classic Disney brand, Hulu for the more adult stuff.

That wall started coming down in 2022 under then-CEO Bob Chapek, when Disney added mature controls to Disney+ and opened the door for edgier projects. Think R-rated theatrical like Deadpool & Wolverine and darker fare such as the Marvel Zombies animated series. When the streaming bubble popped around 2023–2024, Disney accelerated the shuffle with the "Hulu on Disney+" push and more robust parental controls so adults could watch Hulu content right inside Disney+.

Last summer, returning CEO Bob Iger stopped being coy and spelled out the plan on an earnings call:

"We are announcing a major step forward in strengthening our streaming offering by fully integrating Hulu into Disney+. This will create an impressive package of entertainment, pairing the highest-caliber brands and franchises, great general entertainment, family programming, news, and industry-leading live sports content in a single app."

Iger also pointed to the business upside: more engagement, lower churn, better ad revenue, and operational efficiencies. Translation: one app is cheaper to run and easier to monetize.

So... is Hulu going away?

Officially, Disney says there are "no current plans to sunset the Hulu app." Unofficially, once this integration crosses the finish line, expect Disney to put a date on it. The read between the lines here is an announcement by the end of the year feels likely.

If you want to get ahead of it, you can link your Hulu and Disney+ profiles now. The sooner your history and recommendations merge, the less weird your home screen will look when everything finally lives under one roof.