Disney To Refresh App Features As Hulu Integration Continues

By Josh Beckerman

Disney said Hulu will become the global general entertainment brand on Disney+, replacing Star in international markets.

The integration is official Oct. 8, continuing Disney's move to phase out Hulu as a standalone app.

"With this change, and in preparation for a fully integrated unified app experience next year, users will begin to see further integrations of Hulu across the Disney+ app as part of an ongoing and iterative slate of product updates on the homepage and beyond," the company said.

Disney this year purchased Hulu outright after buying Comcast's stake in the streaming platform. In August, Disney said it would take a major step forward in strengthening its streaming offering by fully integrating Hulu into Disney+. At the time, it said the replacement of the Star tile internationally would take place in the fall.

Disney is also making cosmetic and user-friendly additions as part of the Hulu integration, with a new navigation bar with tabs for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN, depending on the user's subscription. What's more, the "For You" tab is becoming the first screen subscribers see when they open Disney+.

"We've been hard at work behind the scenes to evolve and advance our personalized video algorithm that will learn and improve over time," the company said. Disney+ will also make profiles more prominent to ensure users are watching content in their own profile, the company said.

Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com