There are a few streaming headlines Disney would certainly like to forget in 2025. The number of customers who left Disney+ and Hulu during the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel in the wake of his comments following the shooting death of Charlie Kirk in September is certainly one example, and the outcry caused by the company’s decision to raise prices again is another.

But there were certainly some bright spots for Disney in terms of 2025 streaming headlines. The company launched its new ESPN streaming service in August, making the channels available to viewers on a true direct-to-consumer basis for the first time. By far the biggest story of the year for Disney streamers, however, was the company’s announcement that it was combining Disney+ and Hulu onto the same app next year.

As announced in August, Disney+ will fully integrate all of Hulu’s content onto its own app in 2026. Viewers will still be able to sign up for standalone Hulu plans within the Disney+ app, but there will be no need for a Hulu app once the integration is complete.

The move was made possible when Disney finally gained full control of Hulu earlier in 2025. After a years-long process that included arbitrators, numerous banker valuations, and other complications, Disney completed its purchase of the 33% stake of Hulu formerly owned by Comcast.

That allowed Disney to make any and all existential decisions with Hulu that it likes. The writing for the uploading of Hulu onto the Disney+ app has been on the wall for two years, ever since Hulu content first became available on Disney+. Now, the company is taking the next inevitable step.

For customers, that means lower barriers to using the content on both services, and will likely help Disney sell even more bundled subscriptions. The convenience of having Disney+ and Hulu content all on the same app will no doubt be convenient, though whether it will make Disney a big enough player to truly compete in a streaming space where Netflix owns Warner Bros. Discovery is still an open question.