Hulu Reveals Updated, Personalized Interface Mirroring Disney+ and ESPN+

Hulu knows more people than ever are turning to its service for entertainment from home, and it looks like they’ve listened to complaints that their interface isn’t as easy to navigate as others. Today, the company announced an overhaul to its design, simplifying the screen that users first see when they open up the website or app to make it more streamlined and user-friendly.

Jim Denney, Hulu’s VP of Product Management, and Jason Wong, Hulu’s Director of Product Management, released a statement today explaining the changes coming to the streaming platform. “With our growing audience, we’re constantly thinking about creating the best possible experience for our viewers, by getting them to the content they want to watch quickly while also helping them discover their next favorite movie or series to binge,” they said. “We listened to feedback from our viewers and heard they loved how easy it was to continue watching the shows and movies they love, but not as easy to discover new content.”

The updated interface has a few big changes, but most noticeable is the new navigation pattern on Hulu. This change will allow users to move through collections vertically and then explore within them horizontally, much like Disney+ and ESPN+, which will benefit users who subscribe to the Disney bundle.

Hulu is also moving categories like TV, Movies and Sports to master navigation to simplify the search process, and is highlighting new arrivals by enlarging their font in the interface, while keeping titles that a user has already watched or is currently viewing in a smaller font. This way, Hulu hopes to introduce new content to users and make it easier to pick a show or movie back up.

While Hulu is shaking up the display on their program, they’re also changing the backend and updating their recommendation process. Starting today, users will now get fine-tuned curated collections. “With this change, a viewer who may be a fan of medical dramas will see those titles first in a curated drama collection,” the company explained. “In that same collection, a fan of romantic dramas may see those prioritized instead.”

After Hulu’s announcement, Twitter users rejoiced that the streamer was finally updating its interface. “I love Hulu (probably use it more than Netflix), but the interface has been a disaster. A redesign is a welcome change,” one tweeted, while another user wrote, “Finally, Hulu’s impossible to navigate mess is getting an update. The old layout will not be missed. It was just awful to use.”

The changes coming to Hulu will be available to some Roku customers and tvOS devices today, and are expected to roll out to more users in the next few months.