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It’s worth noting that Disney already owns the other two-thirds stake in Hulu, enabled by thecompany’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, back in 2019. It’s worth noting that mergers and acquisitions among media houses and streaming platforms have become quite common. For instance, earlier this year, Discovery acquired majority ownership of Warner Bros. and merged their streaming network, Discovery+ with HBO Max, creating the newly-branded Max. Similarly, Crunchyroll and Funimation fused into one after Sony acquired Crunchyroll in 2021, and Paramount merged Paramount+ and Showtime. In other words, this idea of bringing two platforms together is not something unknown or unseen. That being said, this recent news of merging two extremely popular streaming networks has had its own share of raised eyebrows, questions, and concerns which this article aims to address.
What Is The Objective Of This Merger?
At the Q2 earnings call, Iger also stated,
When Is The Launch Of The “One-App” Experience?
Watch this space for more information on the beta version of the merger app as and when it rolls out in December.
What Will Happen To Hulu’s Content After The Disney+ And Hulu Merger?
Undoubtedly, once Disney+ and Hulu merge, there will be an increase in the overall quantity of content across the board, with the libraries of both streamers becoming combined. However, as we haveseen earlier this year, Disney began to pull out content from both Disney+ and Hulu libraries as a precursor to the merger. This purge-before-merge approach resulted in Hulu fans losing shows likeY: The Last Man,Dollface,The Hot Zone,Maggie,Pistol, andLittle Demon, as well as several Freeform series. Simultaneously, Disney+ also lost important shows likeWillow,Big Shot,Turner & Hooch,etc. So, naturally, this is a concern for users, especially for fans of long-running,successful originals likeOnly Murders in the Building,Little Fires Everywhere, and films likePrey. As Disney CFOChristine McCarthystated during the content removal in May 2023, “We are in the process of reviewing the content on our DTC services to align with the strategic changes in our approach to content curation.” This strategy could continue once Disney+ and Hulu come together as one platform, which means, there is a possibility of more titles (probably not the highly successful ones) getting removed from Hulu since they have a wider library than Disney+.
However, on the bright side of things, with the “one-app experience”, users could get the best of both streamers. While Disney+ is home to legacy franchises like Marvel and Star Wars and leads in animated content, superhero shows and movies, Hulu boasts a huge variety of titles across drama, comedy, action-adventure, andhorror. And thus, as a combined platform, they could balance out each other’s content offerings. Additionally, it’s also worth noting that lately, Disney productions are doing simultaneous streaming releases on both Disney+ and Hulu, with the recent examples of Marvel’sEchoandGoosebumps.
Will Hulu Shut Down After The Disney+ And Hulu Merger?
How Much Will The Subscription Cost?
Stay tuned for all the latest news, updates, and more on Disney+ and Hulu merger.
