Disney+ surpasses 50 million paid subscribers

In just five months since it’s initial launch, Disney+ has hit another milestone of 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+.”

Back in February, Disney beat analyst expectations (which Disney+ would hit 20 million subs by end of 2020) by hitting 28.6 million subscribers.

Part of this accelerated growth can be attributed to the fact that Disney+ recently launched in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Switzerland back in March.

Disney+ launched in India in conjunction with the existing Hotstar service. India currently accounts for eight million of Disney+’s 50 million subscribers.

To put this into perspective, Netflix currently has 167 million subscribers worldwide and Disney’s US-only Hulu has around 30 million subs.

Analysts have previously projected Disney+ to as 60 to 90 million subscribers by 2024 but with additional markets to follow later this year, Disney could hit those numbers sooner.

Disney+ is set to launch in additional Western European markets including Belgium the Nordics and Portugal in the summer. Disney+’s launch in Japan and Latin America is set to later this.

Source: Disney