Disney+ continues to grow exponentially, officially crossing the 100 million subscribers mark. The media giant's streaming service launched in November 2019, with a huge back catalogue of movies and shows drawn from its major franchises. Those include Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Pixar, National Geographic, and many others. The service also launched with the first live-action Star Wars TV show, The Mandalorian, which became one of the biggest shows of 2019 and 2020, winning 7 Emmys to boot.
The service has since gone from strength to strength, producing The Mandalorian season 2, which was as popular as season 1, as well as a host of MCU TV shows. The first of those, WandaVision, just finished season 1 and became the most in-demand series in the world during its run. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier comes next, debuting on March 19, before a host of others, including Loki, Hawkeye, and She-Hulk. In early February, Disney+ hit 95 million paid subscribers, well ahead of projections, which initially indicated the streaming service would take a number of years to reach those kind of numbers.
Now, less than a month later, the company has announced Disney+ passed 100 million subscribers. That means an addition of 5 million paid subscribers in just a month, a monumental number by itself, and impressive in the context of its existence. The news was announced by Disney CEO Bob Chapek at the company’s virtual Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Chapek says the numbers are a sign of Disney+'s "enormous success," adding they've inspired Disney to be "more ambitious." That includes plans to produced 100 new shows a year going forward. You can read Chapek's comments below:
The enormous success of Disney+ —which has now surpassed 100 million subscribers—has inspired us to be even more ambitious, and to significantly increase our investment in the development of high-quality content.
The new numbers represent not only a significant landmark for Disney+, but also signal a warning for its competitors. HBO Max has struggled to match Disney+, likely influencing its decision to release all of Warner Bros.' 2021 movies on the service the same day as theaters, while Netflix is struggling to create a franchise that has the same audience loyalty as either Star Wars or the MCU. Despite the subscription price increasing by $1 in March, Disney+ is showing no signs of slowing down, and the amount of original content coming over the next two years makes it a worthwhile purchase alone.
In fact, Disney+ is projected to beat Netflix's subscriber numbers in 2026, which would be a phenomenal feat just seven years into existence. That might even happen earlier, if these new numbers are a guide, though Disney+ can expect to see a drop in new subscribers each month as they reach market saturation. Still, there is no doubt that with a huge back catalogue and access to a number of fan-favorite franchises, Disney+ will continue to be a major player in the streaming space for many years to come.
Source: Disney