Disney Plus announcement – 50 million subscribers in five months

Of 50 million Disney+ subscribers announced, Futuresource estimates that approximately 30 million of these are in the USA whilst in the UK, the number of subscribers is now likely to be approaching 4 million. Disney+ Hotstar’s recent rebranding ahead of its delayed launched on April 3rd has been the key contributor in hitting this 50 million milestone early, with 8 million subscribers announced.

• COVID-19 has provided a major boost, particularly amongst families with younger children. In addition, the current scenario has convinced many of those who were previously intending to sign up, to make the jump earlier than they had planned.
• In its original November launch markets, the combination of the lockdown and availability early release titles such as Frozen II and Onward have further boosted growth in recent weeks.
• Around 90% of Disney+ subscribers in USA also use Netflix, whilst almost all subscribers already pay for at least one other SVoD service. Highlighting that Disney+ is very much complimentary to existing services, although it will take an increasing share of viewing.
• A key objective for Disney is driving continued subscriber growth in these markets after such an impressive start, but perhaps more importantly, retaining these subscribers in the second half of 2020 – fresh content will be key to this.
• Further detail can be found in Futuresource’s recently published Perspectives on: Disney+ report. Digital Studio India