Disney’s streaming tech teams are working to make the stand-alone Hulu app obsolete, though the company says “there are no current plans to sunset” it.
A screenshot of an internal Disney streaming document, obtained by Business Insider, outlined a multi-phased plan called “Project Gemini” to bring Hulu’s content and features to Disney+. This unified experience is expected to be completed by year’s end, according to the document and two streaming employees.
“The Hulu tech stack and app will be decommissioned after all users have transitioned” from that app into Disney+, the document said.
Three high-ranking Disney tech employees also said that the company is diverting resources away from Hulu and isn’t adding major new features to the app anymore.
“Hulu is on life support at this point, with no active development,” a veteran streaming product employee working on Hulu said. This person added that having fewer people working on the app can mean that it takes longer to fix bugs.
It’s common for tech companies to wind down investment in certain products or platforms while steering users to a preferred alternative. Examples include Microsoft phasing out Internet Explorer in favor of the Edge browser, or Warner Bros. Discovery replacing its HBO Max app with the new Max app, before rebranding a few years later.
Disney has spent years integrating Hulu content and features into Disney+ to bolster its flagship streamer.
Subscribers to the Disney bundle can now watch all of Hulu’s content in the Disney+ app, while subscribers to only Disney+ can sample select Hulu programming.
In late May, the company released a feature that allows Hulu users to sync their watchlists and viewing histories with Disney+. A streaming staffer said Disney+ is also slated to get more Hulu-specific features, including live TV channels and DVR.
Disney’s Hulu integration is part of a companywide initiative emphasized by Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro to unify resources and improve efficiency. The Mouse House also hopes that merging Hulu and Disney+ can help the company improve streaming profits and prevent cancellations, while better competing with market leader Netflix.
Once Hulu is fully integrated into Disney+, there would be little reason for the stand-alone Hulu app to exist, the three Disney employees said.
“Trying to maintain two separate pipelines doesn’t make sense,” one software engineer said.
Another said that “lots of moving pieces need to be migrated,” though.
The Hulu-Disney+ marriage fits in CEO Josh D’Amaro’s ‘One Disney’ push
In his inaugural memo to staffers, D’Amaro highlighted the need to “operate as One Disney” by bringing together teams to “reach people wherever they are” and “deepen their relationship with Disney.”
Folding Hulu into Disney+ offers convenience with less fragmentation, while introducing users to shows they might not otherwise find. Hooking Marvel fans on Hulu comedies, or vice versa, can keep consumers from getting bored.
Even as separate services, pairing Hulu with Disney+ has helped Disney sell streaming bundles, which boosts revenue per subscriber while reducing cancellations. Disney+ and Hulu’s monthly quit rates in the US were lower than those of every major streamer except Netflix in April, according to subscription data firm Antenna.
Disney wants to “get folks to migrate organically” from Hulu to Disney+ “by offering a better experience,” the product employee said. It still offers a Hulu-only subscription, though that option is buried on its website.
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Besides serving consumers, putting Hulu on Disney+ helps Disney be more efficient. The company merged streaming ad servers last summer and combined some streaming teams after last month’s layoffs, including the formation of a new “Domestic Growth” group, a staffer said.
However, there have been competing priorities within Disney about the Hulu app’s future. The product staffer said product leaders were hesitant “to kick a bunch of people off a platform that was heavily used,” while company leadership broadly was focused on unifying the streaming experience “for discoverability and cost reduction.”
Eventually, Disney hopes to transform Disney+ into a super app where fans can stream and buy merchandise and tickets to its parks, cruises, and movies, Bloomberg reported.
This super app could “get people to spend more time with Disney properties and maximize the lifetime revenue across all Disney products,” media consultant Hernan Lopez of Owl & Co. said.
