3 Key Clues Hulu Will Shut Down Feb. 5

Last year, Disney announced it would shut down its standalone Hulu app sometime in 2026. But we have reason to believe that will happen in less than a month.

The first clue is this announcement from Nintendo:

The Hulu app is no longer available in the Nintendo Switch eShop with support for the application ending on February 5, 2026.

When we reached out to Hulu’s support account on X about the Nintendo departure, a representative replied:

In an effort to provide viewers the best experience possible, we’ve had to let some devices go. That said, our Hulu app will still be available on any of our supported devices.

That’s a fair response, but there’s more to consider.

Our second clue is that Disney will hold its next quarterly earnings call on Feb. 4. Historically, Disney makes its largest announcements on those calls. That’s when we learned Disney planned to kill off Hulu. It’s when we’ve discovered upcoming price hikes. It’s when the company announced an ad-supported Disney+ tier. It’s when Disney announced the launch date for their ESPN Unlimited service.

So it would fit the company’s pattern in using its earnings call to drop a major announcement.

A final clue is that we see major differences in the “Upcoming” sections in each app.

When looking at the shows in New & Upcoming on Hulu, we see just 4 titles:

• TMZ Investigates: The Reiner Murders: What Really Happened (Jan. 9)
• Fear Factor: House of Fear (Jan. 14)
• The Beauty (Jan. 21)
• Pole to Pole with Will Smith (Jan. 13)

But the Disney+ Coming Soon section includes Hulu titles like the new season of “Paradise” (Feb. 23) and the “Malcolm in the Middle” reboot (April 10). “Paradise” was one of Hulu’s biggest hits, so it wouldn’t make sense not to promote it within the Hulu app while giving it prime placement in Disney+ unless Hulu wouldn’t be around then.

Disney+ revamped its user interface in November to give Hulu more prominent placement across the top of the app.

What Will Happen When Hulu Shuts Down?

When things like this happen, there’s a fairly standard playbook. Current Hulu-only subscribers will be able to sign in to Disney+ with their credentials. They will probably get the Disney+ library free for at least a month.

Disney+-only subscribers may not see much difference, since Hulu titles have been appearing in the app for a while now.

A bigger question is what happens to someone like me. I pay $17.99 for Hulu with ads and ad-free Disney+. Will Disney still allow subscribers to choose ads for some content and other content ad-free? Or will the entire package be locked into ads or no-ads?

Historically, Disney allows “legacy” subscribers to keep their current plans as long as they don’t cancel (at least for a time).

A bigger question is what happens with Hulu + Live TV. When Disney bought the majority of Fubo, the companies announced both services would continue as separate options. But will the Hulu app continue to exist only for the live TV option? Or will the name change to Disney+ Live TV?

In any case, if you want to lock in an annual plan, you should do that before Feb. 5. Hulu’s ad-supported annual plan is $119.99 ($10/mo.), while ad-free Disney+ is $189.99 ($15.83/mo.) Grabbing either will probably give you the full Disney+ and Hulu combo for the year.

Streaming Smarter has contacted Disney for comment, but the tight-lipped company will likely remain silent until their earnings call on Feb. 4.

Be sure to follow Streaming Smarter on Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, and YouTube to discover streaming news, discounts, and tips!