In less than a year and a half, Disney’s VOD service exceeds its growth forecasts and is positioned as one of the world’s largest platforms.
Disney + has surpassed the barrier of 100 million paying subscribers worldwide. Bob Chapek, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, has confirmed the information at this year’s general meeting of shareholders and also reflects a growth record that allows the VOD service of the North American multinational to reach this milestone in just 16 months compared to its premiere in the United States.
“The enormous success of Disney + encourages us to be even more ambitious and significantly increase our investment in the development of quality content,” said Chapek at the meeting with shareholders. With more than 100 new releases a year, which include works under the seal of Disney Animation, Disney Live Action, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic, the deployment for fiscal year 2021 includes a multitude of series from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars, the recent incorporation of the most adult content channel, Star, as well as other large-scale film productions.
Disney’s initial goal when its platform was born was to exceed 85 million subscribers by 2024. They have achieved it in less than a year and a half. Last December they already had 80 million subscribers. These growth rates lead Disney to expect between 300 and 350 million subscribers worldwide by 2024; adding, yes, all its platforms: Disney Plus, Hulu, ESPN Plus, Star Plus and HotStar.
Disney +
How does Disney + stand against the competition?
100 million members is a huge number, but how far is Disney + currently from its direct competition? According to data updated to February 2021 (via Visual Capitalists), NETFLIX already has more than 204 million subscribers, a growth of 34% year-on-year. For its part, Amazon Prime Video continues to grow and goes from 75 million to 150 million subscribers at the end of 2020. Another service with a large volume of members is Tencent Video, the largest provider in China, with no less than 120 million subscribers and an annual growth of 28%. HBO Max, another big one, has an embargo with only 17 million members.
