Disney Confirms Hulu Will Be Offered Internationally After Fox Purchase

Hulu offers a ton of original content that receives both critical acclaim and fan praise, but unfortunately the streaming service is unavailable outside of the United States.

But with Disney‘s purchase of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment being finalized next year, Hulu will likely be offered internationally.

Disney Chairman Bob Iger revealed the plans for Hulu during the latest earnings call, planning to take advantage of the service’s content in addition to creating its own streaming platform.

Hulu is currently a joint venture between Disney, Fox, Comcast’s NBC Universal, and AT&T’s Warner Media. When Disney acquires Fox, it will become take a majority with 60% of the company, while Comcast will maintain their 30% stake and AT&T keeps their 10% stake.

The acquisition will give Disney a controlling stake in Hulu, allowing them to take steps to secure the licensing rights for its programs and offer some of its content to international subscribers.

This would be a boon for some people, who have had to resort to other methods in order to watch shows like The Handmaid’s Tale and Marvel’s Runaways. While international licenses might prevent some series from being accessed overseas, Hulu’s library of original content would become much easier to obtain.

Disney’s plans for Hulu could also hint at the difference the company plans to take with the Disney streaming service, which will offer premium original content to subscribers. Lucasfilm, Marvel Studios, and Walt Disney Studios are all working on new shows and movies exclusively for the newly revealed Disney+, but the company isn’t planning to bring ALL of its content to the service.

Shows made for Disney-owned networks like ABC and Freeform will likely remain on Hulu, which also offers access to live television broadcasts for an increased subscription fee.

All in all, Disney has primed itself to offer some stiff competition to the dominant streaming service in Netflix. Disney+ will entice many fans with its original content, and the increased stake in Hulu will give them more control to scale up its offerings.

We’ll learn more about Disney’s plans for Hulu when the Fox acquisition is finalized in 2019.