Disney+, Disney’s online video service (OTT), overwhelmed Netflix in the second quarter of this year with more than expected subscribers.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 12th (local time), Disney posted 17 billion dollars in sales in the second quarter of this year, up 45 percent from the same period last year. In terms of profits, the company succeeded in converting its surplus with a net profit of $918 million this time from a $4.7 billion deficit in the second quarter of last year, which was directly hit by the coronavirus outbreak.
Among Disney’s many businesses, Disney+’s performance stood out the most. In the second quarter, 12 million new subscribers overwhelmed Netflix, which attracted only 1.54 million subscribers during the same period. As a result, the number of Disney+ subscribers has increased to 116 million. Netflix has 29 million global subscribers in the second quarter, nearly 100 million more than Disney+. However, considering that Disney+ has grown in such a short period of time since its launch in 2019, it is possible to overtake it soon. Above all, Netflix attracted 10.1 million people in the second quarter of last year, and has entered a period of maturity or decline, attracting only 1.54 million people in the second quarter of this year.
In terms of content, Disney+ has Disney, which is centered on children’s animations, as well as Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic, which are richer than Netflix, which has invested a lot of money to produce original content.
Disney also enjoyed its theme park business in the second quarter. As most Disney theme parks in the U.S. reopened in the second quarter, imports of goods surged. Disney executives said the reservation for the theme park was higher than in the second quarter. However, experts say that the recent rapid spread of the delta mutation virus could put a strain on Disney’s future performance.
