After recent news of Disney purchasing the remaining stake of Hulu from Comcast, Disney is slated to have one of the most magical streaming catalogs around. According to data from London-based Ampere Analysis, a combined Disney-Hulu catalog contains one-third of the 100 most popular titles in the U.S.
Currently, Disney+ offers subscribers approximately 2,525 unique movie and TV seasons on its platform while Hulu has 7,250 titles under its belt – putting the latter’s count at third place in the market behind Amazon Prime and Netflix. The consolidation of Disney+ and Hulu catalogs would offer subscribers whopping 9,500-plus titles, second only to Amazon’s Prime Video library at 10,872. The Disney+/Hulu combination would also eclipse Netflix’s library of more than 8,300 titles.
What is slated to make the Disney+ and Hulu pairing different from the competition right now isn’t just the sheer number of shows and movies: It’s the intersection of genres and their domestic popularity.
Of the 100 top SVOD titles in the U.S. market, the Disney+/Hulu combo is home to approximately 33 (on its own Disney held 17 in Q3 2023), the highest number of any competitor. Netflix comes in second place with 29 of the top titles in its catalog, followed by Max at 18.
Disney+ is a top contender in the SVOD market for Children, Family, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy movies and shows with popular franchises. These genres of content account for approximately 81% of the top 100 most-popular titles on the combined Disney+/Hulu platform.
But Hulu’s catalog fills in the gaps that Disney+ cannot with popular titles across the Crime, Thriller, Romance, and Horror genres. Plus, Hulu has grown to approximately 44 million subscribers across its AVOD/SVOD services and according to Ampere’s consumer survey, 44% of U.S. Hulu subs already have access to Disney+ thanks largely to Disney’s existing bundled offering.
According to Ampere, this consolidation comes on the heels of consumers tiring a bit of the sheer amount of choice in the streaming markets. Approximately 43% of respondents to a recent Ampere consumer survey of U.S. SVOD users noted they felt “overwhelmed” with the amount of streaming services at their fingertips. Thus, the consolidation and mix of Disney family-friendly titles with Hulu’s more general entertainment offerings may make it easier for households to purchase a combined Disney+/Hulu offering and largely consider it ‘one and done.’
Disney+ is currently $7.99 per month without ads or $13.99 ad-free. Hulu with ads costs the same as Disney+ with ad-free streaming available for $17.99 per month. Current bundles for Disney+ and Hulu hover between $9.99 per month for ads and $24.99 per month ad-free plus ESPN+.
Disney has already started working Hulu content into its Disney+ app. Earlier this month Disney integrated Hulu on Disney+ for beta testing prior to the official launch in March 2024. Part of the goal is to figure out what type of content Disney+ consumers are gravitating towards from an abbreviated Hulu selection on their accounts.
Joshua Rustage, Analyst at Ampere Analysis, sees this move as one that will have implications for other SVOD players in the market.
“With a combined app offering Disney+ and Hulu due to launch in the US in early 2024, its compelling new streaming content offer will surely shake up the status quo,” he said in a statement. “The combined Disney+ and Hulu catalogue will provide one of the most well-rounded and popular offerings in a single platform, upping the content stakes at a time when many are pulling back on content investment