Hulu is finally coming to Australia (but it's already kind of here)

Hulu is finally set to arrive in Australia almost two decades after the US streaming service launched in 2007. 

During its latest earnings call, Disney announced plans to officially shut down the standalone Hulu app in the US, instead offering it as an add-on within the Disney Plus app. Over the next few months, Disney will also replace its Star brand with Hulu in every other market, mirroring the consolidated offer in the US.

The rebrand from Star to Hulu isn’t expected to impact pricing or content in Australia. Because, in a way, Australians have already paid the price for Hulu.

Just over a year after Disney Plus launched in Australia, it introduced Star, a new home for Fox (Hulu) movies and TV shows Disney obtained through the 21st Century Fox merger. At the same time, Disney increased the cost of Plus from $8.99 to $11.99 per month.

Today, Disney Plus costs a lot more in Australia. Here's how the current plans stack up:

	Plan	Price	Details
Disney Plus	Disney Plus Standard with Ads Standard with Ads Full HD streaming · 2 devices at once Ads included From $9.99/mth View Plan	From $9.99/mth	View Plan
Disney Plus	Disney Plus Standard Standard Full HD streaming · 2 devices at once Ad-free Annual: $179.99/yr (Save $35) From $17.99/mth or $179.99/yr View Plan	From $17.99/mth or $179.99/yr	View Plan
Disney Plus	Disney Plus Premium Premium 4K UHD + HDR · 4 devices at once Ad-free Annual: $249.99/yr (Save $49) From $24.99/mth or $249.99/yr View Plan	From $24.99/mth or $249.99/yr	View Plan

With that said, it's not hard to find a deal on Disney Plus if you know where to look. 

A history of Hulu in Australia

You might not believe it, but there were a short few years between 2008 and 2010 when Australians were actually more interested in Hulu than they were in Netflix.

It might seem like a lifetime ago but at that stage, Hulu was already streaming evergreen hits like The Office, 30 Rock, Community, Grey's Anatomy and Arrested Development.

The Australian launch of Hulu has been prophesied ever since.

When Publishing Broadcasting Limited (PBL) rebranded as Nine Entertainment Co. back in 2010, The Australian reported interest in a "joint venture with US video streaming service Hulu".

The conversation started up again in late 2020, when Disney Plus launched in Australia following a monumental merger with 21st Century Fox. This time, Disney explicitly expressed interest in expanding Hulu to more international markets. 

And in 2021, it did. Just not how we’d imagined it. The arrangement was different across various markets, but here in Australia we got an overnight dump of semi-relevant Hulu TV shows like Solar Opposites and a decent collection of Fox movie series like Die Hard, Alien, Predator and the like under the Disney Plus Star banner. 

What does this mean for Australian Disney Plus subscribers?

The only immediate difference for Australian subscribers will be that they’ll see the Hulu logo in place of the Star logo once the changes are rolled out. The knock-on effect will, hopefully, be less confusion when a Hulu Original like Alien: Earth is announced (which is streaming on Disney Plus in Australia).

The Star add-on isn’t optional in Australia like the Hulu add-on will be in the US, and there’s nothing to suggest that it will be any different once the rebrand goes ahead.

	Plan	Price	Details
AMC+ Bundle	AMC+ Bundle TV 7-day free trial TV 7-day free trial HD 1080p · 5 devices at once AMC+, Shudder & Acorn TV Annual: $83.88/yr (save $24) From $8.99/mth or $83.88/yr View Plan	From $8.99/mth or $83.88/yr	View Plan
Disney+	Disney+ TV + movies + sport TV + movies + sport 4K UHD · 4 devices at once Annual: From $179.99/y (save up to $49.89) From $9.99/mth or $179.99/yr View Plan	From $9.99/mth or $179.99/yr	View Plan
Amazon Prime Video	Amazon Prime Video TV + movies + more 30-day free trial TV + movies + more 30-day free trial 4K UHD · 3 devices at once Remove ads for $2.99/mth Annual: $79/yr (save $40) From $9.99/mth or $79/yr View Plan	From $9.99/mth or $79/yr	View Plan
Netflix	Netflix TV + movies TV + movies 4K UHD · 2 devices at once Deal: Get free Netflix Standard with Optus From $9.99/mth View Plan	From $9.99/mth	View Plan
Binge	Binge TV + movies + sport 7-day free trial TV + movies + sport 7-day free trial 4K UHD · 4 devices at once Annual: From $79/yr (save up to $85) From $10.00/mth or $79/yr View Plan	From $10.00/mth or $79/yr	View Plan
Crunchyroll	Crunchyroll TV + movies 7-day free trial TV + movies 7-day free trial HD 1080p · 4 devices at once Annual: From $119.99/yr (save up to 16%) From $11.99/mth or $119.99/yr View Plan	From $11.99/mth or $119.99/yr	View Plan
Apple TV	Apple TV TV + movies 7-day free trial TV + movies 7-day free trial 4K UHD · 6 (with Family Sharing) Annual: $129/yr (save $62.88) From $15.99/mth or $129/yr View Plan	From $15.99/mth or $129/yr	View Plan
Kayo Sports	Kayo Sports Sport 7-day free trial Sport 7-day free trial 4K UHD · 2 devices at once Deal: 1 month for $1 From $29.99/mth View Plan	From $29.99/mth	View Plan
DAZN	DAZN Sport Sport HD 1080p · 2 devices at once Annual: From $149.99/yr (save $223.89) From $31.99/mth or $149.99/yr View Plan	From $31.99/mth or $149.99/yr	View Plan
Foxtel Now	Foxtel Now TV + movies + sport 10-day free trial TV + movies + sport 10-day free trial HD 1080p · 2 devices at once Annual: Save 30% on Sports + Movies package when you sign up for 12mths From $35/mth View Plan	From $35/mth	View Plan
Paramount+	Paramount+ TV + movies + sport 7-day free trial TV + movies + sport 7-day free trial 4K UHD · 4 devices at once Annual: From $70.99/yr (save up to $55.89) From $7.99/mth or $70.99/yr Link not supplied	From $7.99/mth or $70.99/yr	Link not supplied
Stan.	Stan. TV + movies + sport TV + movies + sport 4K UHD · 4 devices at once From $9.99/mth Link not supplied	From $9.99/mth	Link not supplied
HBO Max	HBO Max TV + movies TV + movies 4K UHD · 4 devices at once Annual: From $119.99yr (save up to $43.89) From $11.99/mth or $119.99yr Link not supplied	From $11.99/mth or $119.99yr	Link not supplied
BritBox	BritBox TV 7-day free trial TV 7-day free trial 4K UHD · 4 devices at once Annual: $139.99/yr (save $27.89) From $13.99/mth or $139.99/yr Link not supplied	From $13.99/mth or $139.99/yr	Link not supplied
MUBI	MUBI Movies 7-day free trial Movies 7-day free trial 4K UHD · 2 devices at once Annual: $119.88/yr (save $60) From $14.99/mth or $119.88/yr Link not supplied	From $14.99/mth or $119.88/yr	Link not supplied

Brodie Fogg

Managing Editor - Streaming

Brodie Fogg is WhistleOut Australia's Managing Editor for Streaming. He's been writing about tech, streaming, games and telco since 2015. He previously managed a team of entertainment editors at Finder, and has also appeared on 7NEWS.

Read full bio