Hulu To Replace Star Hub On Disney+ Internationally

With the announcement that Disney is planning on merging its Hulu streaming service into Disney+ in the United States in 2026, Disney has also announced a major change to how Disney+ operates internationally.

Later this year, outside of the United States, the Star hub will be rebranded to Hulu, offering a single general entertainment brand for Disney+.  This has already been happening in some countries, such as Canada, which has seen advertising campaigns start incorporating the Hulu logo into their posters and trailers.  

In the latest quarterly financial results report, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that:

Hulu will also become a global general entertainment brand, and in the fall, it will replace the Star tile on Disney+ internationally.

Back in 2021, Disney+ added a new general entertainment hub called “Star” in many countries around the world, including the UK, Australia and Canada, which provided original content from Disney’s studios such as 20th Century Studios, FX and ABC.

Disney originally acquired the “Star” brand as part of the acquisition of 20th Century Fox, as the brand was used in Asia as a network of general entertainment television channels.   So, rather than using the Hulu brand, Disney used Star, since Comcast still owned 33% of Hulu, so incorporating Hulu as a brand globally would have resulted in the Hulu company becoming much more valuable, thus creating a bigger problem for Disney, when it came to buying out Comcast’s stake in 2024. 

Just last month, Disney finalised the deal it signed with Comcast in 2019, allowing Disney to become the complete owner of Hulu, which is why this can 

With the merger of Hulu and Disney+ in the United States, this will also allow major changes to the Disney+ app globally, as it will be finally able to embrace a single platform, which will allow Disney to “implement numerous improvements within the Disney+ app, including exciting new features and a more personalised homepage.”

No release date for the change from Star to Hulu has been announced, other than a generic “Fall”.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney copies the same strategy it’s been using in Canada across its social media accounts and directly on Disney+, where we start seeing the Hulu logo being used in promotional campaigns for upcoming Hulu Originals.  

I also suspect that one day, without notice, the Star hub will be rebranded to Hulu, and we will see that the logo on the thumbnails and Star Original intro video within the Disney+ app, just change.   Disney might decide to run an advertising campaign to let consumers know, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if Disney does it all as quickly as possible, since the Star brand hasn’t been used much in advertising campaigns for years.

Roger’s Take: I’ve been saying this was going to eventually happen for years, as the Star brand is completely meaningless in many countries around the world and Disney basically used it as a substitute brand until they could get full access to Hulu.   It’s also incredible to see how much money Disney has spent on Star branding, especially in Latin America, where they launched a separate app called Star+, rebranded linear channels and even had a legal battle with Lionsgate over the brand, only to abandon it within a few years completely. 

What do you think of the Star Hub becoming Hulu?  Let me know on social media!