Disney is combining Hulu and Disney Plus into a single streaming app. During Disney’s Q2 earnings call on Wednesday, CEO Bob Iger announced that the company is going to create a “one-app experience” within the US and said that it’s raising the price of its ad-free plan, which currently costs $10.99 per month.

“While we continue to offer Disney plus Hulu and ESPN plus as standalone options, this is a logical progression of our DTC [direct-to-consumer] offerings that will provide greater opportunities for advertisers, while giving bundle subscribers access to more robust and streamlined content, resulting in greater audience engagement and ultimately leading to a more unified streaming experience,” Iger said.

He continued, “Meanwhile, the pricing changes we’ve already implemented a proven successful, and we plan to set a higher price for our ad-free tier later this year, to better reflect the value of our content offerings.”

We still don’t know how much Disney will increase the price of its ad-free plan or if this pricing will change once Disney Plus and Hulu become available as a single app. The company just raised its prices on both Hulu and Disney Plus last year and also introduced a $7.99 per month ad-supported tier.

Iger added that the combined app will roll out by the end of the calendar year and that the company will share more details “in the future.” Hulu content is already bundled into the Disney Plus app in select countries outside of the US. Disney’s announcement comes fresh off the heels of Warner Bros. Discovery’s announcement that it’s bundling HBO Max and Discovery Plus into a single app called Max, which will launch later this month.

Disney is currently debating whether it will purchase Comcast’s 33 percent stake in Hulu, which it has agreed to sell to Disney in January 2024. At the time of the agreement, both companies agreed that Hulu would have a minimum valuation of $27 billion, making Comcast’s stake worth at least $9 billion, which Disney might be hesitant to pay if rough economic times continue.

Developing…