Earlier this month, Disney+ Hotstar in India added a new Hulu hub, which was a surprise, considering we’ve not seen any expansion of Hulu internationally since Disney gained control of the streaming platform in 2019. Since Hulu only operates in the United States (and in Japan, though it’s not connected to Disney).

Unfortunately, since Comcast still owns one-third of Hulu, Disney can’t do a full merger between Hulu and Disney+ just yet, but last month, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed during a quarterly investor call that they plan on having a one-app experience available within the United States later this year, which will bring Hulu content into Disney+ for subscribers to the Disney Streaming Bundle.

Disney and Comcast are going through some legal dealings to sort out some problems with Hulu, as Comcast and Disney can force Disney to buy out its stake in Hulu in 2024. Also, Comcast is looking for damages since they claim Disney promised to launch Hulu internationally, but instead, in 2021, Disney launched a brand new general entertainment hub called Star, on Disney+ in many countries around the world, including in the UK, Canada and Australia, which included content from Disney’s many studios, including 20th Century Studios, FX, ABC, Onyx Collective and Searchlight Pictures.  Over the past two years, we’ve seen many Hulu Originals released internationally as Star Originals on Disney+, since Disney didn’t want to increase the value of the Hulu ahead of Disney purchasing the streaming hub.

The new Hulu hub on Disney+ Hotstar in India offered a wide selection of shows and films including:

• The Kardashians
• Single Drunk Female
• Dave
• Koala Man
• Tiny Beautiful Things
• How I Met Your Father
• And many more.

However, in another surprise, the Hulu hub on Disney+ Hotstar in India, has now been removed, causing even more confusion over the future of Hulu internationally.    The hub is now no longer showing on the drop-down menu or in the network’s collections.  And if you try to go to the Hub’s internet address, it delivers an Error 404 message.

Did someone at Disney+ Hotstar hit the update button too early? Is Hulu going to replace Star internationally? Or was it simply a mistake? Unfortunately, we don’t know. We will just have to see if the Hulu hub does return to Disney+ Hotstar in India in the future.   Disney hasn’t announced anything about Hulu expanding internationally on Disney+ and it would seem strange to do so until Disney finalises the purchase of Comcast, since adding to Hulu to Disney+ in other countries would likely impact the valuation of Hulu.

Do you think the Hulu hub will return to Disney+ Hotstar?  Let us know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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