Walt Disney just passed Netflix with a total of 221 million streaming subscribers and announced it will launch a Disney+ ad-free version.
According to the company, at the end of the most recent quarter Disney+ added 14.4 million customers beating the 10 million expected by analysts.
Combined with other insignia platforms like Hulu and ESPN+, Disney now reached a total of 221.1 million subscribers at the end of June, edging Netflix’s 220.7 million.
Five years after Disney started building a streaming service to compete with giant Netflix in 2017 the world’s largest entertainment company finally became the top streaming company in subscribers.
Last month Netflix announced it had almost 1 million subscribers, in the company’s first ever back-to-back quarterly loss of customers. Then, Netflix said it was planning an ad-supported streaming option and to control password sharing.
Disney will now offer an ad-supported version starting for $7.99 a month, the same price it now charges for the ad-free version.
According to Reuters, Disney now projects between 215 million and 245 million total Disney+ customers by the end of September 2024, down from the 230 million to 260 million which the company forecasted.
