The quiet streaming assassin

On the backs of our team streaming It’s Always Sunny episodes, Hulu has been Disney’s fastest-growing US streaming service over the past two years, outpacing even Disney+, per new data shared exclusively with the WSJ.

Put another way, more Americans have subscribed to Hulu than Disney+ in 18 of the past 24 months – including each of the last six quarters.

🔞📈 Driving the trend… The demand for mature content, per the WSJ: one platform has it, and the other doesn’t.

• Disney+ houses the company’s family-friendly offerings from Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar, along with nature films from National Geographic and new animated kid’s shows.
• By contrast, Hulu centers around more adult-oriented content like Pam & Tommy, corporate drama The Dropout, and reality shows such as The Kardashians and Dancing With the Stars.

📸 Big picture: Netflix, which reports earnings later today, is currently the largest streaming platform in the US with a 23% market share, per data from JustWatch. Amazon’s Prime Video (19%), HBO Max (14%), Disney+ (13%), and Hulu (11%) round out the top five.

+One interesting thing: When Disney acquired a controlling stake in Hulu in 2019, then-CEO Bob Iger struck a deal giving Disney the right to buy the remaining 33% stake in Hulu from NBCUniversal at “fair market value” starting in January 2024.