Until now, Disney+ had five main brands: Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic, with Star serving as the general entertainment brand in international markets. In some regions, ESPN and Star are also available as additional brands. According to Disney's statement accompanying the quarterly results, Hulu will serve as a "global general entertainment brand," thus replacing Star. The goal is better brand consistency, technical integration, and personalized user experiences.
While Hulu and Disney+ are increasingly integrating—including through a joint app experience launching next year—a complete discontinuation of Hulu as a standalone service in the US is not on the cards for the time being. Hulu will remain in the US until at least 2026 for customers who do not want a Disney+ bundle, despite earlier rumors of the service being phased out.
Internationally, Hulu is virtually unknown, while Star was primarily known in Asia and Latin America. Nevertheless, media experts are welcoming the change. According to Guy Bisson (Ampere Analysis), Hulu is even a stronger brand internationally than Star. Jack Davison (3Vision) emphasizes that Star meant different things in different markets and was therefore confusing. Hulu brings more clarity and positions Disney's overall content as a recognizable and coherent brand.
Hulu began as a joint venture between several American media giants and came under Disney's full control in 2019 following its acquisition of 21st Century Fox. Disney launched Disney+ later that same year. The Star tile was used internationally as a general entertainment category. Hulu's brand recognition outside the US is limited, but its integration into Disney+ should change that.
