The launch of Walt Disney’s (NYSE:DIS) streaming service Disney Plus last November was one of the biggest events in the OTT space last year. Hence, there was a lot of focus on the performance of the streaming business during Disney’s latest earnings call. The details that emerged from the earnings call suggest that Disney Plus is on the right path and could eventually become a major revenue generator for the entertainment behemoth.
Rising Subscribers Base
A week after its launch, Disney Plus had boasted 10 million sign-ups. However, that performance was no flash in the pan. As of December 28, Disney Plus had as many as 26.5 million paying subscribers.
It went on to add that by February 3, the number of subscribers stood at 28.6 million. It is important to note that as of now, the service has only been launched in the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Australia. However, Disney Plus is going to be expanded quickly in order to catch up with rival Netflix.
Aggressive Expansion
In March, the service is going to move to Europe in a big way. It will launch in Switzerland, Spain, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, and Austria on March 24. However, that is not all. On November 29, it is all set to launch in India through its local streaming service Hotstar.
Hence, two new huge markets are going to open up for Disney Plus. Those launches are expected to boost its subscriber figures further and take it to a new level. During the earnings call, Disney also revealed that the company earned a healthy $5.56 (on a monthly subscription charge of $6.99) in average revenue per user in the quarter. Additionally, subscribers spent as much as 6 to 7 hours per week on the platform on average. That being said, the average might have been significantly boosted due to the Christmas season.
Disney has other streaming services as well, and the company revealed that as of February 3, it had 30.7 million paying subscribers on Hulu. The company revealed that the subscription numbers for Hulu got a significant boost after it was offered in an ad-supported bundle worth $12.99 per month along with Disney Plus and ESPN+. The number of ESPN+ subscribers as of February 3 stood at 7.6 million.
