Disney+ subscribers and competitors: can the house of mouse compete?
The number of Disney+ subscribers has grown rapidly in the few years following the platform’s launch. While the service was initially only available in a handful of markets, it has since expanded to over 60 countries across North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, leading viewer counts to skyrocket. As of late 2022, roughly 164 million viewers subscribed to the platform, which is even more impressive, considering that the company had initially hoped to reach 60 to 90 million subscribers by 2024. While Netflix remains by far the largest SVOD provider globally, it took the streamer almost a decade to achieve similar figures despite navigating a much quieter market with limited competition. Today, the number of Netflix subscribers stands at over 223 million after receiving a significant boost amidst the pandemic. Another viable competitor in the global streaming race is Amazon Prime Video. Amazon’s flagship streaming service had the broadest content portfolio and reported some of the highest programming expenses in the world in 2021.What types of content can viewers expect on Disney+?
Compared to more established streaming heavyweights, Disney+ still offers a rather limited content catalog on its platform. There were an estimated two thousand movies and TV shows available on Disney+ in the U.S., while Prime Video users could choose from over seven thousand distinct titles. In addition to its library of non-Disney programming, Disney+ primarily features content produced by The Walt Disney Studios and its various subsidiaries, including Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, Pixar, and Marvel Entertainment. Hollywood blockbusters such as the Marvel franchise generate billions of U.S. dollars at the global box office, and their exclusive availability on Disney+ helps draw millions of viewers to the platform. On top of that, Disney+ belongs to the streaming services with the highest quality of originals, with productions such as “Wandavision” and “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” The media conglomerate is known to invest heavily in its content portfolio, and with multiple highly anticipated releases such as the Marvel TV shows “Secret Invasion” and “Ironheart” planned for 2023, Disney’s strive for streaming excellence and dominance is on display now more than ever.
