In less than half a month since its launch on November 2019, Disney+ has amassed more than 50 million subscribers, which is 22 million more than its subscriber count in February.
The streaming service gained a huge boost in follower count over the past few weeks when it launched in eight Western European countries — The U.K., Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, France, and Switzerland.
Disney+ was released in France after a two-week government-mandated delay due to concerns that it’ll put too much strain on the countries’ internet bandwidth. Disney+ had also just launched in India last week, with the number of subscribers there accounting for roughly 8 million of the 50 million subscribers.
The COVID-19 pandemic might have also contributed to the huge boost in Disney+’s subscriber count, with research by Nielson showing that streaming viewership had increased by 22% in the last week of March. With the situation currently not getting any better, the numbers are likely to increase as more people look for ways to keep themselves occupied at home.
To put Disney+’s huge subscriber count into perspective, Netflix which released in 2007 only passed the 50 million subscriber mark in 2014, seven years after its launch. Disney+ achieved the same numbers in just five months.
“We’re truly humbled that Disney+ is resonating with millions around the globe, and believe this bodes well for our continued expansion,” said Kevin Maye, 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+”
With Disney+ expecting to receive more 2020 theatrical releases, we can only imagine how much more the streaming service will grow in the months to come.
If you’d like to watch Disney+ but are unable to, you can do so with a VPN.
Germaine is a fun-sized introvert who loves nothing better than sleeping in on rainy days. She can be found reading fanfiction and manga while still waiting for her Hogwarts acceptance letter. It’ll come eventually.
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A'bidah Zaid
