Disney+ passes 28 million subs

Disney+, the new streaming service from The Walt Disney Co, has reached 28.6 million subscribers only three months after its launch.

Bob Iger

Disney entered the streaming wars last November by launching the SVoD service to challenge heavyweights Netflix and Amazon Prime and surpassed the 10 million subscriber mark on the day of its launch.

The figures were revealed in the latest quarterly earnings call with Disney CEO Bob Iger.

Additionally, the streaming service is expected to reach 100 million subscriptions by 2025, according to reports from industry analysis firm Digital TV Research. In comparison, Netflix has an estimated 170 million worldwide subscribers and Amazon Prime recently exceeded 150 million.

Disney+ has now amassed almost as many subscribers as Disney’s other SVoD service, Hulu, which has a total of 30.4 million subscribers – 27.2 million of which are SVoD-only.

The new streaming service is currently only available in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Puerto Rico and is set to launch in the UK, Spain, Italy, France and India at the end of March.

Following the release of the company’s quarterly earnings, Disney saw a year-on-year quarterly rise of 36%, although profits declined 25% from US$2.8bn to US$2.1bn due to heavy investing in the SVoD platform.

Revenues from its direct-to-consumer unit, which encompasses Hulu and Disney+, jumped from US$0.9bn to US$4bn but operating losses widened from US$136m to US$693m.

The Mouse House also warned investors to expect a possible hit of nearly US$300m next quarter due to the closure of its theme parks in China as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

The spread of the virus has closed Disney resorts in Shanghai and Hong Kong, and may well impact attendance at relevant markets in the region, such as next month’s SPORTELAsia in Macau and the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market.