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Is Hulu shutting down? Are prices spiking? New Disney+ merger explained amid massive shakeup
Disney announced a merger with Hulu in a whopping $9 billion deal with Comcast. The streaming platform will be integrated into the Disney+ platform.
Disney announced a merger with Hulu in a whopping $9 billion deal with Comcast. The streaming platform will be integrated into the Disney+ platform, the company confirmed on Wednesday. The merger will take effect in 2026. All Disney+ subscribers will be able to download a new app. The Hulu app will shut down in phases.
Will subscription prices rise after the Hulu and Disney+ merger?
Disney says subscribers will still be able to purchase stand-alone plans for Disney+ or Hulu, despite plans to discontinue the Hulu app. The current Disney-Hulu bundle costs $10.99 to $19.99 per month.
How did subscribers react?
The change has sparked backlash from longtime Hulu fans. “I wish Disney would just go back to being Disney… instead of absorbing every other streaming service,” one X user wrote.
“Can we shut down Disney+ and keep Hulu instead? It's just an all around much nicer platform to use,” another one wrote on X, platform formerly known as Twitter.
“Disney will be phasing out the Hulu app later in 2026 to make Hulu apart of Disney+ fully. It's unknown if it will change the Disney bundle. As well, Star will be rebranded into Hulu for international regions later this Fall after almost 5 years of being introduced,” a third person tweeted.
CNN’s chief media analyst Brian Stelter called Hulu “the fastest, user-friendliest streaming app out there” and urged Disney to adopt its technology.
“Today 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," CEO Bob Iger and CFO Hugh Johnston said about the media giant’s quarterly earnings.
Is Hulu shutting down?
Yes and no. While Hulu will keep operating under the Disney+ domain, its main application will shut down.
The move comes as Disney’s ESPN struck a deal with WWE to stream marquee events—such as WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble, Money in the Bank, and Survivor Series—starting Aug. 21 for $29.99 per month. ESPN’s new streaming platform launches in 2026.
Disney has been pursuing full control of Hulu for two years, buying NBCUniversal’s final one-third stake for $438.7 million in June, on top of an $8.61 billion payout in November 2023—bringing the total to $9 billion.
From March to June 2025, Disney’s streaming division reported $346 million in profit, up 6% from the previous quarter.
