Disney Plus is a new streaming service launched by the American entertainment titan in November 2019, a little over two years after being announced. Disney first signalled an intention to move into the streaming market in 2016, by acquiring a minority stake in streaming technology developer BAMTech. This became a 75% stake the following year. The service is part of Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer & International business, alongside Hulu and ESPN+.
Available initially in the US, Canada, and the Netherlands, Disney Plus launched in Australia and New Zealand one week later. Anticipation levels were certainly high, with Disney Plus the top-trending Google search term in the US in 2019. Within 24 hours the eagerly-awaited new platform had reached 10 million subscribers (though some of these had signed up pre-release).
Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian, featuring the meme-friendly ‘Baby Yoda’, helped cement platform’s flying start, becoming the world’s most in-demand show for a time. By the end of 2019 Disney Plus had already gained quarter of a million users. This figure had doubled to 50 million by April 2020.
At this point Disney Plus had taken the next steps to internationalisation, having launched in a number of key European markets and India (through its existing Hotstar service). More markets in Europe, Latin America, and Asia are due to follow in 2020.
Disney Plus’s great strength is its content. At launch, the service offered a much smaller content library than rivals like Netflix or Amazon. It is acknowledged, however, that’s Disney’s strengths lie in quality over quantity.
The Star Wars franchise, to which The Mandalorian belongs, is just one example of the much-loved content owned by the entertainment juggernaut. The Marvel and Pixar production houses are subsidiaries of the House of Mouse, which also owns the entire back catalogue of The Simpsons by virtue of its acquisition of 21st Century Fox. Disney titles have also migrated from other platforms (many from Netflix), giving the platform considerable appeal to younger households.
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Find out moreIt is on these grounds that Disney Plus is being taken as a very serious rival to the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime. While the marketplace is already crowded, certainly the entry into the field of the world’s second-biggest entertainment company, a name that has boasted name recognition across the globe for the best part of a century, is a game changer.
We’ve collected some Disney Plus stats below, including Disney Plus subscriber growth, Disney Plus ARPU, and wider segment revenue for Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International. Read on to find out more.
Disney Plus Overview
| Launch date | 12 November 2019 |
| HQ | Burbank, California |
| People | Ricky Straus (president, content & marketing), Vanessa Morrison (president of streaming) |
| Parent company | The Walt Disney Company |
| Division | Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International |
| Company type | Public (NYSE: DIS) |
Disney Plus User Statistics
| Disney Plus subscribers | |
| November 2019 | 10 million |
| Dec 2019 | 26.5 million |
| February 2020 | 28.6 million |
| April 2020 | 50 million |
Source: TechCrunch
| Disney Plus downloads | |
| First day following 12 Nov 2019 launch | 10 million |
| First month following 12 Nov 2019 launch | 28 million |
| European downloads, first day following 24 March 2020 European launch | 5 million |
| European downloads, first month following 24 March 2020 European launch | 15.6 million |
| Global downloads, first month following 24 March 2020 European launch | 21 million |
Source: The Verge, Variety, Sensor Tower
Disney Plus Financials
| Disney Plus mobile revenue | |
| Month following 12 November 2019 launch | $55 million |
| Month following 24 March 2020 (Europe only) | $18.5 million |
Source: Sensor Tower
| Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International revenue1 | |
| Q1 20192 | $0.9 billion |
| Q2 2019 | $1.1 billion |
| Q4 2019 | $3.4 billion |
| FY 2019 | $9.3 billion |
| Q1 20203 | $4 billion |
| Q2 2020 | $4.1 billion |
1. Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer & International business also includes Hulu and ESPN Plus
2.Disney quarters run one quarter ahead, so Q1 2019 is Q4 2018 in reality
3.Disney Plus launched in this quarter
| Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer & International operating income | |
| Q1 2019 | ($136 million)4 |
| Q2 2019 | ($385 million) |
| Q4 2019 | ($740 million) |
| FY 2019 | ($1.8 billion) |
| Q1 2020 | ($693 million) |
| Q2 2020 | ($812 million) |
4.parentheses indicate loss
| Disney Plus ARPU (monthly) | |
| Q1 2020 | $5.56 |
| Total Disney Revenue | |
| Q1 2019 | $15.3 billion |
| Q2 2019 | $14.9 billion |
| Q4 2019 | $19.1 billion |
| FY 2019 | $69.6 billion |
| Q1 2020 | $20.9 billion |
| Q2 2020 | $18 billion |
Source: Disney
Other key Disney Plus stats
- The Disney Plus content library contains 7,500 TV episodes and 500 films (Variety)
- Disney Plus was launched in the US, Canada, and the Netherlands on 12 November 2019; Australia and New Zealand on 19 November 2019; and across several European nations and in India (through rebranding its Hotstar service) in March/April 2020, with more to follow in 2020 (Disney, CNET)
- Disney Plus seventh-placed app in terms of consumer spending (mobile only) over Q1 2020 (App Annie via Variety)
- European spending accounted for 33% of Disney Plus mobile revenue in month following March 24 2020 launch
- Disney Plus the most-downloaded app in the US in Q4 2019 (Sensor Tower via TechCrunch)
- Disney’s The Mandalorian ended Stranger Things’ 21 week run as the world’s most in-demand show in late November 2019, before being overtaken by The Witcher a month later (Business Insider)
- The Mandalorian also a hit in Europe, with 33 million demand expressions in first week (Parrot Analytics via Deadline)
- Disney expects to invest $1 billion in content over 2020, rising to $2.4 billion by 2024 (Variety)
- Disney market cap at $193.8 billion, 30 April 2020 (YCharts)
- Disney share price at ~$107.60, 30 April 2020 (NYSE: DIS)
- Disney market cap reached a record high of $273.32 in November 2019, with shares closing at $151.64 (YCharts, Macrotrends)
