Disney Plus, a new video streaming service, has surpassed more than 50 million paid subscribers since its launch five months ago.
Disney’s new subscriber numbers follow a series of rollouts in international territories, including the UK, India, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Switzerland.
Earlier in February, Disney Plus announced that it had reached 26.5 million subscribers. Since then, this has almost doubled as more people are online and stuck at home amid coronavirus lockdown.
In this regard, direct-to-consumer and international chairman Kevin Mayer of the Walt Disney Company said, “We’re truly humbled that Disney plus 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.”
Disney Plus originally set a target of 60 to 90 million subscribers by the end of fiscal 2024, when it was first launched in the US in November 2019.
Disney Plus subscription figures were given a boost by its audience in India, where the streaming service was launched last week. About eight million of its paid subscriptions are in India.
After the announcement of 50 million subscribers, shares in Disney jumped 7 percent on Wall Street. Walt Disney has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, having to close its theme parks across the globe.
Disney Plus is still behind both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video in terms of global subscriptions. However, Disney Plus has grown much faster than its rivals.
All three streaming platforms are enjoying a huge boost in viewing figures as cinemas remain closed and people are forced to stay indoors amid coronavirus pandemic.
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