Disney+ and Hulu’s New App: A Chaotic Beast or the Ultimate Binge-Watching Powerhouse? Find Out!

Ever feel like trying to unwind with some good ol’ TV has become less about kicking back and more like decoding a secret menu at your local burger joint—where every extra topping costs you more and you’re still left wondering if you’re ordering the right thing? Yeah, me too . Back in the day, cable TV was the painkiller for that buffet of choice paralysis—lack of total freedom, sure, but at least it didn’t make your brain hurt figuring out what to watch or what subscription you needed. Fast forward to now, and the streaming wars just keep getting messier, not cleaner. Take Disney’s latest curveball: merging Hulu completely into Disney+ by 2026 sounds like a blessing… except it’s anything but. Instead of a neat, one-stop shop, we’re stuck with a bizarre mashup where standalone subscriptions still reign supreme and confusion reigns king. Does this mean The Bear season 5 will now be “The Bear on FX on Hulu on the Disney+ app with Hulu”? Someone pinch me. Oh, and did I mention the new ESPN standalone service poised to shake things up even more? If the future is watching your favorite shows lost in a labyrinth of apps and bundles, I’m not sure I’m ready to sign up for the maze . Brace yourself—things are about to get wild again. LEARN MORE

Call me crazy, but when I want to relax and watch some TV, I want that experience to be as smooth and painless as possible. That was the one benefit of cable TV. Sure, you couldn’t watch whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted. But at least it didn’t feel like asking if pickles cost extra from a drive-thru menu. Now, it’s nearly impossible to find what you want to watch on any given night—and downright out of the question to figure out what company you need to pay to see it.

Case in point? Today’s announcement from Disney. The company finally plans to fully integrate Hulu into the Disney+ app, which sounds like the natural next step after it acquired full ownership of Hulu earlier this year. However, Disney plans to go about this great bundling in the most confusing way imaginable.

“A new ‘unified’ Disney+ and Hulu streaming app will be available in 2026,” Variety reported on Wednesday morning. Translated: The standalone Hulu app will shut down. Now, you might think that this makes sense. You can already watch Hulu shows like The Bear and Shōgun on Disney+ if you have both subscriptions, so let’s just cut out the middleman. I can pay one subscription for one service now, right?!

Wrong. “According to a Disney rep,” Variety continued, “customers will still be able to buy a stand-alone Hulu subscription (as well as a stand-alone Disney+ plan).” So, Disney+ shows and Hulu shows are still considered separate entities.

Huh? So, will The Bear season 5 advertise as The Bear on FX on Hulu on the Disney+ App with Hulu? Madness. And what about Hulu + Live TV, or the ESPN+ bundle? Isn’t the sports company launching its own stand-alone service as well?

Yes, and that’s even more confusing! Disney also announced that a new ESPN standalone service will launch on August 21 at $29.99/month. The new service will grant viewers access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN on ABC, ESPN3, ESPN+, and more. ESPN+ will remain available as a single subscription service at $11.99/month, while ESPN will also remain part of the Hulu + Live TV package. In fact, most Hulu + Live TV subscribers probably don’t even know that they already have access to Disney+ and ESPN+ as part of their subscription anyway.

What’s next? Paying extra per episode?