Disney+ reached nearly 29 million paid subscribers in less than three months… just in January two million climbed aboard.
Disney has announced its Disney Plus streaming service reached nearly 29 million paid subscribers in less than three months, although launching the new service has come with an inevitable cost as the company posted a 23% profit decline in the latest quarter.
Disney Plus launched in November to compete with online video services like Netflix. Disney had 26.5 million Disney Plus subscribers as of Dec. 28, which grew to 28.6 million as of Monday, well on the way to Disney’s target of 60 million to 90 million worldwide by 2024.
Original content includes the Star Wars series The Mandalorian with its emblematic Baby Yoda. Disney CEO Bob Iger told analysts Tuesday that “Baby Yoda” consumer products will go on sale in the coming months.
The company also said a second season of The Mandalorian will be available in October and said the priority for Star Wars going forward is through the streaming service. After 42 years, the franchise just concluded its nine-part core series with the theatrical release Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in theaters.
Disney also had 30.4 million Hulu customers and 6.6 million ESPN Plus subscribers as of Dec. 28, since the company offers a bundle of the three streaming services.
Disney Plus is currently available in the U.S., Canada, The Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand with the company expecting growth to come primarily from further expansion abroad, as the service prepares to launch in Western Europe, India, and Latin America over the next two years.
Disney earned $2.13 billion in the latest quarter, or $1.17 per share. Adjusted for one-time items, earnings came to $1.53 per share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of $1.46. Revenue rose 36 per cent to $20.9 billion. Wall Street expected revenue of $20.7 billion. Shares sold off slightly after the numbers came out.
The direct-to-consumer business that includes Disney Plus posted revenue of $4 billion U.S., up from $918 million a year ago, while its operating loss widened to $693 million from $136 million. Disney expects the business to lose another $900 million during the current quarter.
