Disney announced that their widely popular streaming service, Disney+, has amassed 26.5 million subscribers in its Q1 2020 earnings report today. However, they shared that as of Monday they had 28.6 million subscribers. 20% of those came as a result of their partnership with Verizon, while 50% directly on the Disney+ website, with the rest coming through partnerships with companies like Apple and Roku.
“We had a strong first quarter, highlighted by the launch of Disney+, which has exceeded even our greatest expectations,” said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. “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.”
Disney also announced that Hulu now has 30.4 million subscribers, up from 29 million as reported last quarter, and ESPN+ reached 6.6 million subscribers in 2019.
Last month, competing streaming service Netflix announced they reached 167 million global subscribers, 61 million U.S. subscribers (up 420,000) and surpassed 100 million internationally for the first time (up 8.33 million).
Amazon, which doesn’t reveal its subscriber numbers, was reported to be standing at 100 million subscribers with 26 million U.S. customers streaming videos, according to a report by Reuters.
Disney+ launched on Nov. 12, and immediately became a hit. The streaming service was downloaded 3.2 million times to mobile devices and garnered 1.3 million hours of viewership in its first 24 hours, according to Apptopia. Despite initial hiccups, the streaming service reached 10 million subscribers merely 24-hours post launch.
The streaming service has a deep catalog including the entire Disney Vault, Pixar and Star Wars libraries, MCU films like “Captain Marvel” and the entire 30 seasons of The Simpsons. Starting with the 2019 theatrical slate, all Disney/Pixar/Marvel/Star Wars films will become exclusive to Disney+, meaning movies like the live-action versions of “Aladdin,” “The Lion King,” “Captain Marvel” and “Avengers: Endgame” will only be available to stream on Disney+.