Celebrating the Teams Behind the Launch of Hulu on Disney+
We’re so excited to share that Hulu on Disney+ has officially launched in the U.S. for Disney Bundle subscribers! Since Disney+ launched in 2019, we have committed to putting viewers first. This new experience, that features extensive Hulu content available directly in the Disney+ app, proves that commitment by giving viewers more ways to watch the content they love, all in one place.
Without a doubt, a project of this scale could not be completed without the efforts and hard work of our employees. We had the chance to meet with a few of them and learn about their experiences bringing this project to life.
Meet Zachary, Senior Principal Software Engineer, Architect! This launch was a huge collaborative effort, and Zachary got to work with employees across many different lines of business. Not only did his team collaborate with other technical teams, but they also worked with Content Programming and Creative Partner Management teams. He stated, “I'm most proud of how everyone came together. We had to think of this as one collective unit and how we were going to bring [Hulu on Disney+] into our future.”
Katie, Content Strategy & Analytics Manager, also had the chance to work closely with other teams. When this project began, some Hulu-specific metadata wasn’t readily available in reporting tools. Katie and her team collaborated with Data Product teams to build a more scalable solution and with Content Analytics partners to get creative. Katie said, “We pulled cohesive views of Hulu catalog performance together through some manual tagging. This was no small feat, given there are nearly 3,000 titles!”
This project did not come without its own set of unique challenges. Nate, Manager, Software Engineering, explained, “Since Disney+ is live today, bringing Hulu into Disney+ resulted in creating multiple new systems to power the content catalog that all of our media is modeled in. At the same time, we were keeping the existing traffic on Disney+ healthy and up to date with new features. It's a challenge that I think we pulled off well.”
For Christina, Senior Director, Content Programming, this launch not only meant integrating the Hulu catalog on Disney+, but also meant new capabilities to target different audiences. “To provide the best experience for each subscriber, my team had to develop and completely rebuild different approaches for each audience. These approaches are optimized to help them find their next story or watch their current favorite.”
Of course, all of the diligence that goes into a project like this calls for a sense of pride and accomplishment. Taylor, Content Partnerships Manager, shared, “The launch of Hulu on Disney+ was a considerable, fast-paced effort! Everyone on the project worked with an admirable level of resilience and determination, especially in the face of challenges that required quick functional alignment and on-the-fly adjustments to project plans.”
“I am most proud of the mass amount of effort all the teams put in to get this through and out. It wasn't easy. It wouldn’t have been possible without the many people, many hours, and many months of work. Working in technology at Disney means working on an application that millions of users use every day and that brings a lot of happiness to people of all ages. I don't think that's easy to find.” Nacha, Lead Software Engineer, told us.
Thank you to all the employees and teams who put in countless hours to launch Hulu on Disney+!
Interested in working on ground-breaking projects that reach millions? Visit Disney Careers to view our open roles today!
