It is impressive to see how far Disney Plus has come since they first launched back in November. The streaming platform is home to almost the entire Disney studio archive. This means that subscribers have instant access to classics, contemporary films, and Marvel Studios and Star Wars. And now they have crossed a major milestone. According to a new press release from Disney, Disney+ now has over 50 million subscribers in just five months.
The announcement comes after Disney+ launched in other international territories like the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Switzerland. Additionally, Disney+ became available last week in India, where it is offered in conjunction with the existing Hotstar service, and already accounts for approximately eight million of Disney+’s 50 million paid subscribers.
“We’re truly humbled that Disney+ is resonating with millions around the globe, and believe this bodes well for our continued expansion throughout Western Europe and into Japan and all of Latin America later this year,” said Kevin Mayer, Chairman of Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International. “Great storytelling inspires and uplifts, and we are in the fortunate position of being able to deliver a vast array of great entertainment rooted in joy and optimism on Disney+.”
Fifty million isn’t a small number by any means when compared to some of the other available streaming services. It’s nearly one-third of Netflix’s 167 million subscribers worldwide. And that streaming service launched back in 2007, according to Business Insider.
Of course, access to a wealth of existing and original Disney content is the top reason why many find themselves subscribing to the service. The Mandalorian proved to be a topic of conversation. And it’s the weekly rollout of episodes made it easily digestible and far more enjoyable than the binge method.
Then there are films like Stargirl and Togo, which shows that streaming films can be just as emotional and exhilarating as some of the bigger theatrical ones.
Not only that, but Disney+ will have more original films and TV shows coming in. However, expect some of the newer content like Marvel Studios’ Falcon and The Winter Soldier TV series to be delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Even a major theaterical feature like Artemis Fowl, which was expected to hit theaters later in May, has been moved to premiere on Disney+.
Remember all of this happened in just five months. And we can expect that numbers to grow at an accelerated rate when more of the original content hits Disney+.
