"We are honored that Disney + appeals to millions of people and this bodes well for our future expansion in Western Europe, Japan and throughout Latin America later this year," said Kevin Mayer, president of the activities in direct relation with the consumers of the Disney group, in a press release published Wednesday. The video streaming platform has already passed the 50 million paying subscriber mark, while Disney + only entered the scene in November in North America, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand.
Exceeding forecasts
For a few dollars or euros per month, it gives access to original programs (including "The Mandalorian", which takes place in the Star Wars universe), more than 500 films and thousands of episodes of series. In early February, the platform had already won over 28 million subscribers, exceeding its own forecasts, according to Bob Iger, former boss of the Enchanted Kingdom, who passed on shortly after.
For the past two weeks it has been deployed to the UK, Ireland, France on Tuesday, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland. In India, Disney + has 8 million subscribers, acquired since last week, when the service became available there via the Hotstar platform.
Impact of containment
The press release does not mention the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led authorities in many countries to contain their populations to curb the spread of the virus. The time spent on social networks and entertainment platforms has exploded since half of humans are trapped in their homes. Netflix remains the industry leader with 167 million subscribers worldwide in early January.