Watching Hulu en masse has just become much easier, thanks to a new update the streamer has rolled out. Now that SharePlay support is in place, on iPhone, iPad and Apple TV apps, users will be able to invite a whopping 32 people into a group call for a massive viewing party. And you can be anywhere in the world as long as you can access FaceTime.
The new feature adds a next-level social dimension to streaming — now you don’t have to leave the comfort of your own home to watch a movie with your friends and family. Plus, if you've got 32 friends, that makes for a pretty massive watch party.
To get started, you need to round up all of your friends on a FaceTime call, then nominate a person to share what they’re watching on Hulu. This person loads up the Hulu app, taps on "Share", then taps on "SharePlay" to launch the feature for everyone on the call.
From that point on, an interactive experience will be underway — not only will you be watching the programming in sync, you can also rewind, pause or fast-forward the stream — with everyone else seeing these changes in real-time as well.
When someone begins talking, SharePlay will automatically lower the volume and if you prefer audio or subtitles in a different language, this option is available too. So there's no language barrier to watching movies and TV live on Hulu.
To access SharePlay, Hulu has requested that all subscribers update to the latest version of the app (on their iPhone or iPad). These devices, plus Apple TV, are compatible with the feature, but currently, MacOS and Android devices are not compatible. Anyone without a compatible device can use Hulu Watch Party on a supported web browser to get a similar mass viewing experience.
However, do note that everyone who participates needs to have access to Hulu on their own device(s) to participate in SharePlay. Furthermore, everyone on the FaceTime call will need to be using the latest iOS or iPadOS.
SharePlay was first announced at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in 2021 and it was rolled out alongside iOS and iPadOS 15.1. There are a number of launch partners lined up, including TikTok, NBA, Paramount Plus, Twitch, Disney and Showtime. Disney provided SharePlay support for Disney Plus subscribers in December 2021.
