A Major Change Is Happening To One Of Our Favorite Streaming Service Apps, And I Hope It Doesn't Lead To More Price Increases

In the past few years, our TV viewing experiences have gotten a lot more complicated. There’s a lot more than a handful of streaming services to subscribe to, and not only can it get expensive, it can be overwhelming to decide what to watch on any given evening. Here at CinemaBlend we’ve declared what we deem the best streaming services is a tie between Hulu and HBO Max, but we’ve just learned the Hulu app specifically will soon cease to exist. Let’s talk out what it means:

What We Know About The Hulu App Officially Going Away In 2026

During Disney’s quarterly earnings call on Wednesday morning, CEO Bob Iger announced that the Hulu app will soon be “fully integrating” on the Disney+ app, which means if you subscribe to both you’ll have one less app to click on come 2026. The decision comes after The Walt Disney Company decided to buy all of Hulu back in late 2023. Here’s what Iger said about the upcoming big change:

Now, if you already have a Hulu on Disney+ bundle plan, you already have a preview of the changes to come. However, the CEO also teased that the app itself will have “improved consumer experience” on the new version of the single platform including a “more personalized homepage for users. Plus, subscribers will still be able to choose between having a Disney+ subscription or Hulu subscription as standalone subscriptions rather than needing to have both to subscribe to one, per Variety. They’ll just be in the same place!

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What Does This Mean For Future Price Increases On Disney+ And Hulu?

During the announcement, Iger suggested that Disney+ and Hulu being on one app will result in cost synergies, sharing that the move has “expected higher engagement, lower churn, and advertising revenue potential, as well as operational efficiencies that over time may result in savings that we can reinvest back into the business.”

Now that the Walt Disney Company will be in charge of two massive apps, I am a bit worried that they’ll have reason to bring up the prices further, but I will say since the two services have merged together, they’ve offered some great bundle deals every so often. Check out the current plans for Hulu and Disney+ below:

While that sounds like it could actually benefit the consumer, I do wonder how it will affect price increases on Disney+ and Hulu. Over the past four to five years, Disney+ has slowly raised their prices (on par with other streaming platforms).

Here’s hoping the death of the Hulu app not only lowers costs for Disney, but for its customers, because we’ll be bummed if it doesn’t! We're also hoping the quality of Hulu itself doesn't get downgraded now that it's entering a marriage with Disney+.