Hulu’s app gains Apple SharePlay support and new Live TV features – TechCrunch
Hulu’s streaming app is the latest to add support for Apple’s SharePlay — Apple’s newer system that allows users to co-watch content, like streaming movies or shows, over FaceTime calls. The update was quietly noted in Hulu’s iOS app update description this week alongside news of a new Live TV feature that will allow users to flip between TV channels during playback.
SharePlay sessions allow up to 32 people to co-view content at the same time while on FaceTime, where each can choose the audio and subtitles in the language of their choosing.
To use the feature on Hulu, a FaceTime call participant would launch the Hulu app, then tap the “Share” button, followed by the “SharePlay” option. This launches the SharePlay experience where others on the FaceTime call could watch the same content in sync with their family and friends, as they were also Hulu subscribers.
The company instructed Hulu customers to update to the latest version of the Hulu app on their iPhone or iPad to get started.
First announced at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference last year as an upcoming iOS feature, SharePlay rolled out to users with the launch of iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1. Apple had lined up several launch partners for the experience, including TikTok, Twitch, NBA, Paramount+, Showtime and others, in addition to supporting SharePlay in its own apps like Apple TV+, Apple Music and Apple Fitness. Disney, which also owns Hulu, was among Apple’s partners on the effort but didn’t offer SharePlay support to its Disney+ subscribers until this past December.
Last month, Disney brought SharePlay support to its ESPN+ streaming app. The company noted that was the first time Disney had ever offered a co-viewing experience for live sports.
With the new support for Hulu, Disney has the co-viewing feature enabled for all three services that make up its Disney+ bundle. Hulu’s pricing starts at $6.99 per month for its ad-supported service, or $13.99 as part of the bundle with Disney+ and ESPN+.
