Disney+ could have 8 million subscribers by the end of the 2019 if analysts are to be believed. Disney will receive a big boost due to their partnership with Verizon.
As a result of these offers, we estimate that Disney+ will now hit 8 million worldwide subscribers out of the gate in CY 2019 and 18 million worldwide subscribers by the end of FY 2020,” wrote MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson, in a research note.
MoffettNathanson said that approximately half of Verizon’s 35.3 million accounts (or 17.7 million) are eligible and that if half opt in for the product, Disney+ would get just fewer than 9 million U.S. subscribers in the first year from Verizon alone.
That estimate is close to where UBS analyst John Hodulik landed, too. He said that the more than 17 million potential Disney+ subscribers from Verizon presents significant potential upside to his firm’s Disney+ estimates of 4 million U.S. subscribers at calendar year 2019 and around 8 million at one year after launch. Disney will be getting a lower ARPU given the likelihood that the company is giving Verizon a wholesale discount, but it will get benefits like lower acquisition costs and lower churn out of the deal.