It is truly the age of streaming, and Walt Disney Studios has been reaping all of the benefits. Disney+ has reported reaching a subscriber base of 116 million, in addition to increasing its market share from this point a year ago, according to Deadline. The relatively young streaming service has truly proved to be worthy competition for streamers such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, especially given that the Disney service has achieved this success since its debut in November 2019.
These results report findings made preceding the quarter's end on July 3. Disney+ is also not alone in its success, with the sister services Hulu and ESPN+ also reporting achievements in viewership. Hulu reported an increase of 21% to 42.8 million subscribers, while ESPN+ rose 75% to 14.9 million subscribers. It's important to note that all three services are under the Disney umbrella, and can all be purchased together in a bundle plan. Disney as a whole has seen great success, with the entire company, from sports to theme parks to motion pictures, recording a total revenue of $17 billion.
Many analysts have pinned this success on Disney's adjusted distribution plans, especially when considering the pandemic. For instance, the studio has released titles such as Cruella, Mulan, and Jungle Cruise in theaters and through Premier Access, with the Scarlett Johannson-led Black Widow performing particularly well on the service. This Premier Access plans allows subscribers to 'unlock' the title for $30 dollars, in addition to the Disney+ subscription price.
Disney+ clearly has a long way to go to catch up to Netflix, which currently houses 209 million subscribers. But this increase for Disney+ is particularly noteworthy given that it will only celebrate a two-year anniversary in November. Its content isn't slowing down anytime soon either, with Marvel pumping out tons of live-action series from Hawkeye to Ms. Marvel, in addition to numerous Star Wars and animated projects in various states of production.