Disney+ and Hulu officially merge for Disney Bundle subscribers
This week, Disney officially launched (after several months of beta testing) Disney+ with Hulu integrated. To summarize the new setup:
Subscribers to the Disney Bundle (Disney+ and Hulu; ESPN+ optional) will be able to use the new version of Disney+. Those only subscribed to Disney+ can see the new Hulu tile/its content, but won’t be able to watch Hulu stuff unless they upgrade. Of course, Disney plans to push the Bundle harder.
Disney+ and Hulu will remain standalone services. Hulu-only customers who don’t want Disney+ can continue using Hulu as-is; nothing will change. Ditto those who only want Disney+ and not Hulu.
The Disney Bundle’s pricing remains the same (for now): $10/month for the Disney Bundle (Disney+/Hulu) with ads, $20/month without ads. Adding ESPN+ to either is another $5.
Thoughts on the new Disney+-with-Hulu
The new Disney+-with-Hulu will look familiar to non-American Disney+ subscribers. International versions of Disney+ include the “Star” category, basically the Disney-owned Hulu content. Hulu’s only available within the US.
Looking over the new Disney+, one major change is a new teal-colored logo for Disney+, a mix of the old logo’s blue and Hulu’s green. While it makes Disney+ stand out from a sea of blue-colored streaming service logos (Max, Paramount+, PBS, etc.), it’s also gotten criticism for supposedly being “bland.” (I don’t mind the change.)
The biggest in-app change from the beta is that Disney+ has fully integrated Hulu’s content into Disney+. Hulu shows now appear in recommendations, the various Disney+ categories, and so forth. There’s also some new categories, such as “Hulu Highlights.” The collections section (under search) also adds a few new tiles, such as “Adult Animation” and “Horror.”
Another change: while the Paramount and Warner Bros. shows on Hulu are still available within Disney+ (“Rugrats,” “Craig of the Creek,” “Teen Titans Go!,” etc.), the TV networks/studios listing mostly dropped non-Disney-owned producers. So no more hubs for CBS, Cartoon Network, or Warner Bros. (Oddly, Nickelodeon and MTV are still listed.) Admittedly, seeing the Disney+ logo over the WB shield on a streaming service looked odd.
One of my previous criticisms, however, hasn’t changed. Watch lists and viewing history still don’t carry over between the Disney+ and Hulu apps.
Parental control concerns
As the aforementioned new tiles show, Disney+ now fully supports R-rated/adult content, alongside the usual family-friendly fare. This should satisfy those that complain about a lack of adult-only content within Disney+, even if it requires buying the Disney Bundle.
Of course, parental controls are available, which Disney has promoted with the Hulu integration. Similar to the non-US Disney+ and its Star category launch, Stewie from “Family Guy” has been roped in to discuss the parental control features for Americans.
I’ve looked over the parental controls. My conclusion is most parents will want to set it to the “PG” rating at the strictest—because that’s the setting that still includes all the Disney and Pixar animated films (i.e. “Toy Story,” “Frozen,” etc.). The “PG” rating also includes the Disney Channel’s programming, such as the various live-action sitcoms, “Big City Greens,” etc. If you want the Marvel superhero films, you’ll want the “PG-13” setting.
There’s more restrictive ratings such as TV-Y, TV-Y7, and TV-G, which are probably better for Disney Junior’s audience. However, those rating levels don’t include Disney’s animated feature films, taking away one of Disney+’s main selling points.
If one’s a Ron DeSantis-type who doesn’t want their kids to see LGBTQ characters on Disney+, good luck with that. Even the strictest setting (“Junior Mode”) includes “Firebuds” and “Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures,” two shows featuring same-sex parents of main characters.
Missing content
One downside is that not everything from Hulu is available within Disney+, largely due to rights reasons. A few TV shows and films currently Hulu-only and unavailable on Disney+:
TV shows:
“The Act”
The “Dragon Ball” franchise
“General Hospital”
“Love Island”
“Modern Family”
“Murdoch Mysteries”
Movies:
“Anatomy of a Fall”
Unfortunately, I can’t find a full list of what Hulu shows aren’t available on Disney+. If you know of any others, feel free to list them in the comments.
“The Simpsons” is still split into two tiles: Disney+ has the back catalog, while Hulu has the current season’s episodes.
Also not available in Disney+ is Hulu Live, the live cable streaming service Hulu also offers. Those paying for that will still need the Hulu app.
Conclusion
Despite some of the sticking points above, I think folding Hulu into Disney+ is a good move for Disney Bundle subscribers. It makes it convenient to watch both services’ content within the same app.
And again, Disney+ and Hulu make up for each other’s weaknesses: Disney+ has strong all-ages animation content, “Star Wars,” and Marvel, but a lack of adults-only programming; Hulu has strong anime and adult animation libraries, ABC’s content, and other adult-oriented programming, but not much for kids. Together, they feel like more of a “catch-all” service, and a better competitor to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.