As of April 3rd, Disney+ had 103.6 million subscribers, up from 33 million a year earlier. Disney disclosed the numbers in its Q2 earnings report.
Further, Disney+ added 8.7 million members since the start of 2021, likely thanks to the addition of several Marvel original series. Both WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier debuted earlier this year — the latter had the biggest Disney+ premiere to date.
CNET shared a comparison with Netflix, which accrued 207 million subscribers since it started streaming over a decade ago (as a fun aside, Netflix came to Canada in September 2010).
Clearly, Disney+ is popular, but it seems to be even more popular than Disney expected. The company previously predicted that the streaming service would reach between 60 million and 90 million subscribers roughly five years after launch. However, with the service’s rapid growth, Disney now expects to reach 230 million to 260 million global subscribers by the time Disney+ is five years old.
However, it’s also worth noting that these numbers show a slowdown for Disney+ growth. According to CNET, subscriber numbers were up 9.2 percent compared to the previous three months. However, in the previous two quarters, the platform’s sequential growth was stronger at 29 and 28 percent respectively.
Even with slowing numbers, Disney+ is set to be a titan of the streaming industry. And considering the popularity of the company’s various IPs — Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar, just to name a few — I suspect growth will continue as more people flock to the service to watch their favourite movies and shows.
Source: CNET
