Disney+ Hits 10 Million Sign Ups Since Launch

The Walt Disney Co. said that its Disney+ streaming service hit 10 million sign ups in the first day since its Nov. 12 launch.

The company, led by chairman and CEO Bob Iger, has been projecting between 60 million and 90 million global streaming subscribers by 2024. One analyst recently forecast Disney+ would reach 101 million subscribers by 2025.

The service launched in the U.S., Canada and The Netherlands with nearly 500 films and 7,500 TV episodes, followed by Australia, New Zealand and Puerto Rico on Nov. 19.

The company has said it expects the direct-to-consumer service to "launch in most major global markets within its first two years," including a March 31, 2020 start in markets across Western Europe, including the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Spain.

Amid the "streaming wars," one key focus for new entrants is reaching subscriber goals to carve out a piece of the overall direct-to-consumer video market. Iger has said he is confident the company will reach its targets. "There's only one Disney," he recently told THR. "No one can come out and have a product that's like ours, because no one's got those brands."

Disney+ original programming in the early days includes The Mandalorian, the first-ever live-action Star Wars series; High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, the new scripted series set at the real-life East High featured in the High School Musical franchise; and The World According to Jeff Goldblum, a docuseries from National Geographic. 

More to come...