Hulu should let viewers save history before Disney+ move
Hulu should let viewers save history before Disney+ move
The Hulu app will soon be a thing of the past. It should give fans a way to move their viewing history to Disney+.
The Hulu app is living on borrowed time. Now that Hulu is 100% owned by Disney, the company can move forward with long-held plans to integrate Hulu fully with the Disney+ app. The move is scheduled to be completed on an as-yet undeclared date in 2026.
Once it is, customers will still be able to purchase standalone Hulu subscriptions — but there will be no separate app to watch that content on. Viewers with both Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions will be able to watch all of that content in one place, making for a much more convenient setup — at least, that’s the goal.
There’s still time for Hulu to make a move that could help customers markedly before its app shuts down, however, by allowing customers to move their profile, and specifically their viewing histories, to the Disney+ app.
Hulu content has been available on the Disney+ app for nearly two years, but I still find myself using the Hulu app frequently. The main reason? It remembers where I left off during streams of my shows. My viewing history on the service stretches back years, but Hulu remembers titles I haven’t watched for a long time, and I appreciate knowing where I was the last time I enjoyed that title.
The Disney+ app has not imported my viewing history from Hulu yet. Whenever I check a show or movie I’ve started on the Hulu app on Disney+, it just takes me to the beginning of that title’s episode run. I think longtime Hulu customers will find this a point of friction as they try to navigate the Disney+ app going forward, and it’s an easy problem to avoid.
Some streamers already offer the ability to migrate profiles — including viewing histories — but only within the same app. HBO Max, for example, allows customers who are using someone else’s account to bring their profile with them if they purchase their own subscription. Disney may have a harder time allowing viewers to migrate their profiles across two distinct apps, but if it is possible, I believe it should make a very serious attempt to do so.
The clock is ticking for the Hulu app, but it still has time to make a key change that could help viewers greatly once the shutdown day arrives. Hulu should find a way to allow customers to migrate their viewing history to the Disney+ app before the merger of the services is complete.
Hulu
Hulu is a video streaming service that gives access to thousands of full seasons of exclusive series, hit movies, kids shows, and Hulu Originals like “Only Murders in the Building,” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.”