Disney Plus UK Reached 4.3 Million Subscribers a Month After Launching, Report Says

Most of Disney+’s numbers have been stellar, and its UK premiere was no exception. According to new data from Omdia Consumer Research, the streaming service, which launched in the UK on March 24, garnered 4.3 million subscribers by the end of April, making it the third largest SVOD in the country. Within that first month, Disney+ gained 16.8 percent market share, trailing behind Netflix, which has 58.4 percent, and Amazon Prime Video, which has 46.9 percent market share.

“Disney+ arrived in the U.K. just as COVID-19 social distancing and quarantine measures commenced,” Maria Rua Aguete, senior research director, video, TV and advertising for Omdia, said in a statement. “Streaming services … have become the biggest winners during the lockdown as consumers have sought new entertainment experiences to keep themselves entertained.”

The streaming service also continued performing well in the U.S., claiming 25 percent of subscribers, and contending with Hulu, which was at 29 percent, as well as Prime Video at 47 percent and Netflix, which has 60 percent of the market. Omdia’s study also found that one out every four households has a Disney+ subscription.

Omdia’s assessment that the pandemic has benefited streamers is a point of no debate. A recent study by Nielsen found that even as states relax shelter-at-home orders and businesses reopen, CTV trends remain above pre-COVID-19 levels.

For the week of May 4, connected TV shows totaled 3.5 billion hours of viewing in the U.S. while CTV viewing has averaged 3.8 billion hours for the last eight weeks.

In addition, Ampere Analysis research shows Americans with at least one streaming subscription are subscribing to more streaming services in 2020 than 2019. Between January and March, the average U.S. streaming household subscribed to 3.3 streaming services — up 27 percent from the same time last year, when Americans subscribed to 2.6 services on average.