The company brought in 50 million subscribers in the first 5 months which is a milestone that took Netflix 10 years to hit. Disney + first launched in the U.S. in November and gained 10 million subscribers on the first day.
Parents wanted good entertainment for their kids and have all gone to Disney+ according to the analytics firm Antenna. For 2 weeks Disney released its service to countries under lockdown including France, the United Kingdom, and Italy.
Their stock rose to 7% during after-hours trading.
Disney has been in need of positive news and it just got it! The entertainment giant was forced to close its parks, stop production on new content, and delay blockbuster releases including Black Widow and Mulan. In March, the company announced it would raise money through debt to make up for the loss in revenue. Disney + could attract new viewers and become very important to the company if movie studios remain closed over the summer months. In May, the company plans to release Artemis Fowl on their service.
Disney+ Standing
To date, Disney+ is the third-largest subscription-based streamer on the market. Netflix is still leading with over 167 million subscribers around the world and Amazon is in second place with 150 million subscribers. Amazon is considered their flagship delivery service instead of just for videos. Netflix and Amazon took approximately 10 years to reach 50 million subscribers. Also, Disney controls Hulu which has more than 30 million subscribers. NBCUniversal Media is hoping that Peacock Premium will have an easy launch this month but has modest expectations of hitting 30 million subscribers over the first 4 years.
With so many people staying home due to COVID-19, the number of subscribers for home viewing is on the rise. For now, there seems to be a great demand for subscribers to these video companies and the future is looking good!