Disney+ Tops 73 Million Subscribers

Disney+ has attracted 73.7 million subscribers in its first 11 months, far exceeding the company’s expectations.

Disney had previously forecast that the family-friendly streaming service would reach between 60 million and 90 million subscribers by 2024. It hit the lower end of that threshold after just nine months.

The service, which at $6.99 per month is on the lower end of the pricing spectrum for standalone streamers, has amassed its subscribers on the strength of its content library, which includes access to animated classics, Marvel blockbusters, the Star Wars franchise and more. It launched Nov. 12 with original series The Mandalorian, Jon Favreau’s take on the Star Wars universe featuring the incredibly memeable Baby Yoda character. Though some of the service’s high-profile Marvel originals have been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, it made up for the loss of new content by moving its Hamilton film to Disney+ over the summer and by releasing Beyonce’s Black Is King in July.

Disney+, which is available in about 30 countries around the world, still has a ways to go to catch up to Netflix’s 195 million global subscribers. It’s hard to compare its performance to other newly launched services. Apple has never disclosed how many subscribers Apple TV+ has attracted. NBCUniversal, meanwhile, has disclosed only that streamer Peacock — which offers both a free, ad-supported offering and a subscription tier — has 22 million users. And WarnerMedia has said 8.6 million people have activated HBO Max since May, but that HBO and HBO Max have a combined 38 million subscribers.

More to come.