Anna Daniels
Disney+ has passed a major milestone. Following a rollout in more than a dozen international territories, Disney+ has passed 50 million paid subscribers globally — up more than 22 million since the Walt Disney Company last disclosed subscriber numbers two months ago. It took only five months for Disney+ to reach this major subscriber count milestone.
Disney announced that Disney+ has passed the 50 million subscriber milestone, following a series of rollouts in international territories, including the U.K., India, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Switzerland. The subscriber count has almost doubled since Disney hit 25 million subscribers two months ago.
For comparison, Netflix has 167 million subscribers worldwide, per CNN. In just five months, Disney+ has already reached just under one-third of Netflix’s total subscriber base. Hulu, also owned by Disney, has 30 million subscribers. However, Hulu only operates in the U.S.
“We’re truly humbled that Disney+ 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,” said Kevin Mayer, Chairman of Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International. “Great storytelling inspires and uplifts, and we are in the fortunate position of being able to deliver a vast array of great entertainment rooted in joy and optimism on Disney+.”
Disney launched in the U.S. in November and followed with a series of international rollouts over the past two weeks. The streaming platform is now available in over a dozen countries, including the recently added India. However, Disney+ did delay its launch in France due to government concern over the strain on bandwidth. Disney is looking to expand to even more international territories beginning in 2021.
In a February investors call, Disney chief financial officer Christine McCarthy noted that Disney expects the majority of its growth in the near future to come from international subscribers, according to The Verge. The company also expects another surge of domestic subscribers following the premiere of highly anticipated titles from Marvel and Lucasfilm, including The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision later this year, and the second season of The Mandalorian this fall.
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