Disney+ and Star+ Combining in Latin America; Does Unification Point to Future Merger of Disney+, Hulu?

Disney is officially combining two of its streaming apps into one, but it’s not yet the ones that you might be thinking. The company has announced that it will merge Disney+ with its general entertainment streamer Star+ in Latin American territories, creating a unified streaming experience for customers in those countries.

• Unlike other territories, Latin American subscribers had to use a separate app to stream Star content.
• Disney+ and Star+ are set to combine in the second quarter of 2024.
• The combination of these two streamers reopens the conversation of what Disney will do with Hulu once it owns 100% of the domestic general entertainment streamer.

What Does Combination of Disney+, Star+ Mean?

Disney uses the Star brand internationally to distribute much of the content that is available on Hulu domestically, including content from ABC, FX, and 20th Century Television. Countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, and India see this content on Disney+ via a Star content tile, but in Latin America, due to existing licensing contracts, Disney decided to create a standalone streaming app for Star titles called Star+.

Latin American customers expressed frustration at having to navigate between separate apps to go between Disney+ and Star content when other countries were able to enjoy all of the company’s content in one app. But that arrangement is finally changing, as Disney+ and Star+ will merge in Latin America in the second quarter of 2024.

“This integration will allow the unparalleled strength of our content to be available in a single application, providing an improved and superior experience, as well as simplified access to subscribers, who are always at the center of our strategies,” Disney’s president in Latin America Diego Lerner said.

Will Disney+ and Hulu Merge in the United States?

The move to combine streaming apps in Latin America adds another log to the flame of conversation about what Disney will do with its entertainment streaming apps in the United States. The company recently made some Hulu content available on Disney+ in a public beta test, but has made clear that at least for the time being, a full integration is not imminent.

“This is not a replacement for standalone Hulu or Disney+ – both will still be available as separate offerings,” Disney says. “Hulu + Live TV and Premium add-ons will still only be available within the Hulu app, along with the full Hulu SVOD content library.”

Indeed, there would be major difficulties for Disney in merging its two platforms into one. Hulu + Live TV is the X factor; merging that live TV streaming service onto Disney+’s on-demand platform could cause some major technical problems the company will have to work through, and it’s likely to take a while even if Disney does want to follow through with that plan. Disney would also have to re-work some of its licensing agreements to fully merge its two entertainment streaming services into one, as some of its current contracts stipulate that content is only allowed to stream on Hulu.

On the other hand, fully combining Disney+ and Hulu in the United States would have clear advantages for Disney. It would reduce the friction customers experience currently in switching between the two apps, and analysis indicates that such a streamer would have more top streaming titles than even Netflix. A fully integrated one-app experience would allow Disney to cut down on back-end redundancies, further trimming the company’s streaming costs.

The first thing Disney has to do before it can proceed in any way with plans to more fully combine Disney+ and Hulu is buy out Comcast’s stake in the streamer. Disney made an $8.6 billion down payment for Comcast’s 33% share in Hulu early in December, but the sale process is not complete, as bankers are still determining whether Hulu’s valuation is higher than the $27.5 billion minimum Disney and Comcast agreed to in 2019. That’s when Disney acquired Fox’s stake in Hulu, and signed a contract to acquire Comcast’s portion by 2024.

Disney executives will be watching the success of the new Disney+ experience in Latin America closely. Disney+ and Star+ are combining in the second quarter of 2024 in those territories, and the viewership data will give Disney good insight into whether or not it should fully merge Hulu and Disney+ in the U.S.