Disney+ of Walt Disney U.S., surpassed 100 million paid subscribers in just one year and four months after the launch of the service. It is now challenging Netflix’s stronghold, which dominates the industry.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 9th, Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced the subscriber status at the annual shareholders’ meeting. As of the end of last year, it is still less than half of Netflix. Netflix has 240 million subscribers and is leading the streaming industry. However, due to rapid growth that has surpassed expectations, it is drawing attention from online video streaming service industries.
On the same day, CEO Chapek put Disney’s online streaming business as his top priority. This indicates that Samsung Electronics will focus on supplying strong contents for continuous growth of Disney Plus. To this end, the company also proposed a goal of increasing the budget for Disney Plus to release more than 100 contents a year. Including Disney Animation, Disney Live Action, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic.
The WSJ analyzed that Disney Plus’s rapid growth is attributed to cheaper subscriptions compared to Disney’s original content. Such as Star Wars series “The Mandalorian” and Marvel series “Wanda Vision.” Disney Plus is offering high-definition (HD) services at $6.99 a month. Netflix’s basic product price is $8.99 per month, even though it does not offer HD services.
It also contributed to the growing demand for streaming services that can be enjoyed at home. Instead of at movie theaters in the aftermath of COVID-19.
Disney announced its transformation into a streaming-oriented company in October last year and launched Disney Plus the following month. It’s service is currently available in 59 countries. Disney Plus also established a Disney Korea corporation in Korea in February and is currently preparing official services in Korea.
