Disney+ App Overhaul Signals Hulu's Global Takeover

Disney is giving its streaming app a pretty significant facelift - and that means saying goodbye to its "Star" brand, which had been used internationally, and it is now being replaced by Hulu. This is all part of the company's push to bring everything under one roof & shift towards a single streaming service that does it all.

Starting from 8th October, users will be seeing a completely revamped app. There's a shiny new "For You" tab that's been powered by a supposedly improved movie recommendation algorithm - plus a dedicated "Live" section for news & sports. Your first glance at the app will be met with a new navigation bar at the top highlighting Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN, and it will only show you the services that you're actually paying for.

It's all just part of the build-up towards Disney's big endgame - a single fully integrated app experience that is due for release in 2026. The update is part of a long-term plan to get rid of the separate Hulu app and combine all its streaming services into one place.

Of course, given the timing of all this, it's no accident that the redesign hits just before the price hike on the 21st of October. Disney+ with ads is going to jump by $2 to $12 a month, while the ad-free Premium tier goes up by $3 to $19 a month - a bit of a familiar move - give people something new, then give the bill a bump.

By squishing all of its brands & sorting out its tech, Disney is clearly getting ready to position itself as a major streaming hub that can take on the competition. The full integration has become possible after Disney bought the rest of Hulu from Comcast earlier this year, & we had a good hint back in August that the standalone Hulu app was on borrowed time.