Netherlands: Disney+ app downloads 2021

Consumers in the Netherlands were the first in the world to try out the new Disney Plus (stylized as Disney+) streaming service. Starting Wednesday September 11 (Android) and Friday September 13 (iOS), Dutch residents were able to sign up for free for an early version before its release in the US, Canada, and the Netherlands on November 12. According to figures provided by Airnow PLC, the Disney+ app was downloaded nearly 133 thousand times to Android and iOS devices in November 2021. The source does not mention whether one download equals single person use or whether multiple persons in a household, such as children, use the app alongside their parents. In 2020, there were nearly eight million households in the Netherlands.

Why the Netherlands?

Three main reasons are mentioned why the Netherlands became the test ground for Disney's video service. First, the country had relatively many high-speed internet connections. Second, the Netherlands is quite used to Video on Demand (VoD) as can be seen in the market size of Netflix and other domestic VoD services versus DVD and Blue-ray sales. Netflix's revenue in the Netherlands, for example, grew from 120 million euros in 2015 to 278 million euros in 2019. Finally, the Netherlands has no issues with the English language. This can be seen in, for example, the podcast listening behavior of Dutch consumers in 2019 and their preference for podcasts that were either partially or fully in English.

To Infinity, And Beyond?

As of 2020, the Walt Disney Company's total assets were worth over 201 billion U.S. dollars. In the same year, the media company and owner of Pixar Studios, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic generated a global revenue of 65.4 billion U.S. dollars, the second highest figure to-date. The company is divided in four different segments: Studio Entertainment, Parks, experiences and products, Media Networks, and Direct-to-consumer & international. Streaming service Disney+ makes the high reach of "the House of Mouse" even bigger.