Hulu Down: Hulu subscribers across the United States are facing a frustrating Wednesday, as the streaming platform hit a major snag on January 7. According to real-time data from Downdetector, thousands of users began reporting issues early in the day, with many unable to get past the loading screen or maintain a stable stream.
According to the latest data from Downdetector, the number of frustrated Hulu users has climbed to 9,607 across the United States. The outage is hitting major urban centres the hardest, with a high concentration of reports coming out of New York, Washington, Atlanta, Dallas, and Los Angeles.
The technical issues are broken down into three main categories:
Video Streaming (62%): The majority of users are struggling with playback, reporting constant buffering or black screens.
App Performance (31%): Nearly a third of the complaints come from people who can’t get the application to load or navigate properly on their devices.
Login Troubles (7%): A smaller group of subscribers is being blocked at the front door, unable to sign into their accounts at all.
This widespread disruption is leaving nearly ten thousand viewers without access to their favourite shows right in the middle of the week.
This disruption comes at a busy time for the service, especially with the news breaking today that Disney plans to begin phasing out the standalone Hulu app next month in favour of a full integration with Disney+. While Hulu’s support team hasn’t given a specific reason for today’s glitches, the sheer volume of complaints suggests a significant backend issue.
Disney is officially moving forward with a plan to shut down the standalone Hulu app in 2026, a move that will shift over 50 million subscribers onto a unified platform built around Disney+. While the familiar Hulu app will eventually be retired, the company has clarified that all of Hulu’s library will remain accessible as a dedicated section within the Disney+ interface.
This transition marks a massive shift in Disney’s streaming strategy. During an earnings announcement last year, CEO Bob Iger and CFO Hugh Johnston shared their vision for the future, stating:
“Today we are announcing a major step forward in strengthening our streaming offering by fully integrating Hulu into Disney+. This will create an impressive package of entertainment, pairing the highest-caliber brands and franchises, great general entertainment, family programming, news and industry-leading live sports content in a single app.”
