Disney+ subscriber numbers rose by more than 8 million in just one month, between December and January. As of January 2, 2021, the streaming service notched up 94.9 million customers worldwide. This tops Disney’s original projections of 90 million subs within four years.
December’s surge in subscribers was due, in part by the premiere of Pixar’s “Soul” and the conclusion of season 2 of hit Star Wars series “The Mandalorian”.
During their investor day in December, Disney announced that they were spending big money on new originals, which will appeal to both new and existing subscribers. 80% of the 105 movies and TV series are targeted to Disney+, under the Star Wars, Marvel, Disney Animation and Pixar brands.
It wasn’t just Disney+ that saw a significant rise in subscribers. Disney owned services Hulu and ESPN+ grew 30% and a massive 83% respectively. The total number of customers across the three platforms now stands at around 146.4 million and rising.
More good news is that with STAR, Disney’s new general-entertainment brand being integrated with Disney+ internationally, a huge amount of content is about to added to the platform. This will surely prove an attractive proposition for people yet to buy-in to the Disney+ streaming service.
What is also interesting is that other streaming services Netflix and HBO Max are reporting similar sized gains in numbers. This illustrates the point that so-called “streaming wars” aren’t a zero-sum fight. It would seem that, at least in the current pandemic environment, customers are still interested in a range of content providers, rather than just choosing one.
What do you think of Disney+ now that we’ve had it here in the UK for almost a year?
Source: Variety