Disney Plus projected to have 160 million subscribers worldwide
By Bryce Olin
Netflix is the only streaming service with 100 million subscribers around the world. New projections show Disney Plus picking up 160 million subscribers in the next few years.
Netflix has a 100 million subscriber lead on Disney+ (Disney Plus) right now, but that won’t last long, according to a report from CNBC.
The CNBC report cites a JP Morgan projection that puts Disney’s new streaming service at 160 million subscribers worldwide. According to the report, Netflix has about 140 million subscribers worldwide right now, and the company is still adding millions of subscribers every quarter.
The report does not claim Disney+ will ever have more subscribers than Netflix. The projections simply show the potential for the number of subscribers available to Disney in the next few years as they roll out the streaming service.
Disney+ is scheduled for a late 2019 launch in the United States, and then it will be rolled out internationally after that. We don’t have a timeline for that rollout yet.
At first, I was skeptical Disney’s streaming service could work. I thought it was going to be a place where they’d add their old movies and leave it that. Then, the media giant announced plans for their own original shows and movies from Marvel, Star Wars and their other popular franchises, and that’s likely where this streaming service will be successful.
People may get sick of that content, but there’s a huge market for it around the world, and Disney is making the right move. Of all the standalone streaming service, Disney, along with Netflix, has the content stream to survive, according to the report, and probably thrive.
I don’t know that Disney and Netflix are in direct competition with each other. I think both companies will continue doing great things, and they should remain relatively affordable in the future. It’s the other streaming services that should be worried.
We’ll let you know more about Disney+ and how it will affect Netflix in the future. Stay tuned!