Saying the service “exceeded even our greatest expectations,” Walt Disney Company Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert A. Iger announced this week that the company’s new streaming service, Disney+, now has more than 26.5 million subscribers and $28.6 billion in revenue to date – both above projections.
The numbers were announced during the company’s first-quarter 2020 earnings report, where Iger said “We had a strong first quarter, highlighted by the launch of Disney+, which has exceeded even our greatest expectations. Thanks to our incredible collection of brands, outstanding content from our creative engines and state-of-the-art technology, we believe our direct-to-consumer services, including Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu, position us well for continued growth in today’s dynamic media environment.”
Disney+ launched last November and saw immediate success. It was downloaded over 3 million times the first day and surged to 10 million subscribers just a day after launch. The streaming service was the top trending Google search of 2019 thanks to breakout hit The Mandalorian – and it hasn’t even launched in Europe yet. That’s still a long way from the 167 million global subscribers to Netflix, but it’s certainly a good start for Disney.
As more of the Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars catalogs move to the service over the coming months, you can expect that number to rise.
