ESPN+ subscriber numbers continue to climb after Disney announced during today’s Q1 2020 earnings call that they added 5.2 million new members since 2018 and was at 6.6 million subscribers at the end of 2019. During the earnings call, the company shared that they added an additional million subscribers in 2020, bringing the total to 7.6 million.
Much of that growth came from a half a million new subscribers who joined to watch the McGregor UFC fight. In total, ESPN+ had 1mm PPV buys of the fight.
“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,” said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company.
Expect ESPN+’s numbers to keep growing as they continue to add live sports to the streamer. Just last week, The Associated Press reported that ESPN won the streaming rights to the entire PGA Tour and that matches will be shown on ESPN+. “Two people aware of the negotiations say ESPN has emerged as the winner of the streaming sweepstakes, which currently belongs to NBC Sports,” the AP report stated. “They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal is not finalized.”