Hulu to be fully integrated into Disney+ app, CEO Bob Iger announces

LOS ANGELES -- The Walt Disney Company announced it will be fully integrating Hulu into Disney+ next year in hopes of making it easier for users to find their favorite shows in one place.

"This will create an impressive package of entertainment, pairing the highest-caliber brands and franchises, great general entertainment, kids programming, news, and industry-leading live sports content in a single app," said Disney CEO Bob Iger, who announced the change during the company's quarterly earnings call Wednesday morning.

Iger said Hulu will now become the company's global general entertainment brand and will replace the Star tile on Disney+ internationally this fall.

Over the coming months, Disney will be implementing improvements within the Disney+ app, including new features and a more personalized homepage.

The two-in-one streaming app will be available next year.

Meantime, ESPN, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, announced Wednesday that ESPN's direct-to-consumer streaming service and its "enhanced" ESPN App will arrive on August 21.

The launch of ESPN DTC coincides with the start of the college football and NFL seasons, US Open tennis, international soccer, women's college soccer, volleyball, field hockey, and more - with the start of the WNBA playoffs, PLL playoffs, and NBA and NHL seasons, as well as UFC and WWE events just around the corner.

ESPN DTC will offer two plans, including an unlimited plan for $29.99/month that gives fans access to all of ESPN's linear networks, covering 47,000 live events each year, on-demand replays, studio shows, original programming and more.

This comes after ESPN announced Tuesday that it will officially acquire the National Football League (NFL) Network in a landmark agreement that gives the NFL a 10% equity stake in ESPN.

The agreement between the sports media giant and the NFL aims to "set a new standard for how professional football is delivered, experienced and celebrated by fans," the companies said in a press release about the deal.

The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of Hulu, ESPN and this ABC station.