Combined Disney Plus and Hulu App Has Streaming's Most Popular Catalog, Study Finds

Last week's "beta" integration of Hulu into the Disney Plus app created what is perhaps the most popular catalog in U.S. subscription streaming, according to Ampere Analysis.

The British research company said that based on a third-quarter market audit, the two streaming services stock 33 of the 100 most popular movie and TV series titles in the U.S., usurping even top SVOD Netflix (which has 29).

In terms of depth, meanwhile, the combined Disney Plus and Hulu have 9,578 distinct movie and TV seasons in their collective library, second only to the perennially loaded Amazon Prime Video. This is despite Comcast, which is divesting itself of former joint venture Hulu, removing more than 300 titles from the platform.

Disney last week took the first stop in a process that will, starting in March, fully combine the family-oriented catalog of Disney Plus and the more adult-oriented library of Hulu. Ampere said that currently, around 44% of Hulu's 48.5 million subscribers also take Disney Plus through the Disney Bundle.

Disney has been bundling Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus for several years. But with the integration, the media company is now offering Disney Plus and Hulu as a bundled duo for as low as $9.99 for ad-supported versions. (The premium no-commercials iteration is $19.99 a month.)

Ampere sees the integration as an effective way to drive more Hulu users to add Disney Plus

"The combined Disney Plus and Hulu catalogue will provide one of the most well-rounded and popular offerings in a single platform, upping the content stakes at a time when many are pulling back on content investment," said Joshua Rustage, an analyst at Ampere Analysis, in a statement. "Rivals will have to ensure their offerings remain competitive as the battle for viewing time intensifies, especially as the need to pull in advertising dollars is now also central to the streaming mix.”