The Guardian (Charlottetown)

Hulu launches on Disney+ in bid to boost streaming use

- LISA RICHWINE

LOS ANGELES — Walt Disney completed the addition of the general-audience-focused Hulu streaming service to the family friendly Disney+ on Wednesday, putting titles such as “The Bear” and “American Horror Story” in the same app as “Moana” and “Frozen.”

The combinatio­n, which the company started testing last year, is designed to make viewing more convenient for customers and to increase Disney’s streaming subscripti­ons as cable TV usage declines.

Thousands of movies and TV shows from Hulu will be displayed alongside Disney programmin­g across the Disney+ app and in search results. Subscriber­s who do not yet pay for a Disney+ bundle will see prompts to add Hulu for an extra $2 per month.

Parental control settings will allow subscriber­s to restrict access to more mature content from Hulu in children’s profiles, Disney executives said.

Disney’s streaming TV unit has been losing money since Disney+ launched in November 2019. Chief Executive Bob Iger has said the business will turn a profit this year. The media giant is under pressure from activist investors who criticize the company for investing billions in its directto-consumer business but lagging behind industry-leader Netflix.

As of December 2023, Disney+ had nearly 150 million global subscriber­s and Hulu nearly 50 million.

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