Disney has released some positive news this week, announcing that Disney Plus now has more than 50 million total subscribers. The latest figure is a huge increase from the 26.4 million subscribers they announced back on February 4, 2020.
The surge in new subscribers can be attributed to Disney Plus rolling out throughout Europe (United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and others) as well as in India over the past few weeks. We can also tie the growth of Disney Plus to the current “Stay at Home” orders that are impacting much of the world, leading to a huge demand for in-home entertainment options.
Despite the announcement of 50 million paid subscribers, it’s difficult to estimate what kind of monthly revenue Disney is seeing from Disney Plus at this time. Bundling, multi-year agreements and partnerships with third parties, such as Verizon, make forecasting revenues nearly impossible for outsiders.
The growth of Disney Plus is a bright spot for Disney at a time where positives are few and far between. Thanks to the closures of the theme parks and cruises, as well as the lack of sporting content for its broadcast services, revenue has dried up in a hurry for one of the largest companies in the world. Disney is wise to try and capitalize on Disney Plus at this time, which they have already started doing by bringing Onward to the platform earlier than expected.