Daily Disney+ app downloads in the Netherlands 2019

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. Thanks to figures provided by Priori Data, it is possible to get an idea of how the new video streaming service launched in the European country. In the first week (from September 13 up until September 20), the Disney+ app reached nearly 200,000 downloads. 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 2018, there were around 7.8 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 220 million euros in 2018. 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 2018, the Walt Disney Company's total assets were worth over 98 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 59.43 billion U.S. dollars, the highest figure to-date. The company is divided in five different segments: Studio Entertainment, Parks and Resorts, Disney Consumer Products, Media Networks (which includes ABC, Disney Channels, ESPN, Hulu), and Disney Interactive. Streaming service Disney+ could make the high reach of "the House of Mouse" even bigger.