Disney+ breaches 50 million subscribers in just five months

Following its European and India launch last month, Disney+ has now surpassed 50 million subscribers, with the streaming service poised to expand throughout Western Europe, Japan and all of Latin America by the end of the year.

Smashing expectations, Disney+ is not far off its stated 2024 goal of drawing between 60 million and 90 million subscribers. Upon its European expansion last month, Disney+ accrued five million mobile app downloads, taking its global subscriber base beyond the 30 million customers mark.

Two weeks later, partially thanks to lockdown conditions of the pandemic that has catalysed greater subscription video-on-demand consumption, this number has surpassed the 50 million milestone.

To put this in context, prior to its European expansion across the UK, Ireland, Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland, Disney + had 28 million subscribers across the US, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand. This was 3.6 million ahead of Wall Street expectations.

It is now measuring up nicely next to Netflix’s 167 million subscribers, garnering nearly a third of is competitor’s base within five months of its US launch.

Beyond Europe, Disney + has also become available in India, where it is offered in conjunction with the existing Hotstar service, and already accounts for approximately eight million of Disney+’s 50 million paid subscribers.

Kevin Mayer, chairman of Walt Disney direct-to-consumer and international says the success “bodes well for Disney+ expansion throughout Western Europe and into Japan and all Latin America later in the year.

“Great storytelling inspires and uplifts, and we are in the fortunate position of being able to deliver a vast array of great entertainment rooted in joy and optimism on Disney+,” he continues.

The adfree streaming service’s launch couldn’t be better timed with a locked-down populace reaching to fill time once occupied with work and is arguably down to a lot of Disney+ early success.

source: https://www.thedrum.com/