Just after crossing 100 million users in March, Disney+ has reported that it had crossed 103.6 million subscribers as of April 3, 2021. The company has seen an exponential rise ever since its launch in November 2019 and has almost half the subscription numbers of Netflix despite availability in a lesser number of countries and regions. The company aims to cross 260 million subscribers by 2024 and seems on track to do so if it continues at its current pace.
Disney+ continues to grow at a steady pace
Despite its growth, the recent quarter did not show as much growth for Disney+ video streaming service as analysts expected. Although Disney+ had much lower expectations for subscription numbers to hit by 2024 (60-80 million), it has since adjusted it to 260 million. But seeing its recent trend over the last year, analysts were predicting Q2 numbers to be around 109 million. With 103.6 million subscribers, Disney+ still shows tremendous growth, however, it has seen a slowdown just like its biggest competitor, Netflix.
Disney+ has a busy slate of titles releasing in 2021, with tv shows from its popular properties like Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar, as well as other original content. It is highly likely that subscription numbers will pick up as the year goes on and Disney+ continues to add more programming to its catalog, especially localized content for the vast number of countries that it is available in. This is an area where Netflix is currently ahead of its competitors as it has had a stronghold in international markets longer than other video streaming services. Netflix is available in 190 countries, while Disney+ is available in around 59 countries as of now.
Disney had announced that it will be bringing more than a dozen Marvel series and Star Wars shows to the video streaming service in 2021, while Netflix has announced that 70 original titles will be released on its service in 2021. Meanwhile, Apple TV+ is slowly growing its catalog as well but spending time and money on original content, some of which is being critically applauded. There is still some time to go before Apple TV+ poses a real threat to competitors, but for now, Apple is happy to promote Disney+ as a must-have app for Apple TV.
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