Disney+ viewers seem to watch more content on the site than Netflix or Amazon Prime video viewers. The new streaming service from Disney launched November 12th with an impressive collection of older and obscure Disney movies, as well as content from Marvel, the Star Wars franchise, Pixar, and National Geographic.
There has also been a slew of newer shows, the most popular so far being The Mandalorian, which has spawned a great deal of fan content. In addition to the already stellar launch, though, there have been announcements for more originals and exclusives, such as Marvel's WandaVision, which promises to be narratively continuous to the MCU film franchises it connects with. There have been some critics and hesitation, however, with Chadwick Boseman saying he wants nothing to do with a Disney+ Black Panther series, and John Boyega of Star Wars also uninterested in playing Finn in any further productions.
Nothing seems to be slowing Disney+ down, though. Variety reports that Apptopia have provided a great deal of data on the initial launch month and it looks good. With 22 million downloads, Disney+ has stayed at the #1 spot on both the Google Play store and Apple App Store. Apptopia says despite this strong launch, rivals Netflix and Amazon Prime video have been "largely unaffected," but adds that "as Netflix loses the right to stream [Marvel] movies, we believe we’ll see more of an impact." As for the comparative viewing time, Disney+ user spend 5.8 percent longer watching content than Netflix users, and 7.8 percent longer than Amazon Prime video users, again according to Apptopia's analysis.
Apptopia produced other bits of data, including that Disney+ has pulled in as much as $20 million thanks to in-app purchases, even after app store fees. Variety is quick to point out that the download figures can be difficult to interpret because one subscriber may download the app on multiple devices and that it does not include subscribers accessing the site directly on a computer or through a TV app.
All said, Disney+ came out of the gate moving fast and seems to have no plan of slowing down, with at least $500 million budgeted for additional programming, and the further potential for planned theatrical releases to come to Disney+ instead of their competitors. The actual amount of money being poured in could be higher, however, with rumors suggesting the MCU exclusives on the platform might have $100 million budgets per show. Some old favorites are also getting revived, with Home Alone being rebooted with a new kid finding himself in a similar situation as the original franchise.
Source: Variety