The streaming service has surpassed more than 100 million subscribers worldwide in just 16 months, Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced at the company’s annual shareholders meeting, which was held virtually on Tuesday.
“The huge success of Disney + … has inspired us to be even more ambitious and to significantly increase our investment in the development of high-quality content,” Chapek said in a statement.
It is a great achievement for the House of the Mouse.
Disney, one of the largest and most established media companies, turned its entire business into streaming – a move that helped the company survive a pandemic that stunted multiple parts of its business, forcing it to park and park. close resorts and postpone big blockbusters.
The 100 million subscriber mark also shatters Disney’s original projections: the company told investors in 2019 that it expected Disney + to have 60 million to 90 million users worldwide by 2024.
That was perhaps a bit of an undercutting Disney DIS, but it doesn’t detract from the company’s astonishing streaming growth, which has accelerated since it hit the market. Now the service stands behind its biggest rival, Netflix NFLX, by approximately 100 million users.
And Chapek doesn’t believe that growth will slow down anytime soon.
The CEO noted on Tuesday that the company is targeting more than 100 new titles each year from its biggest brands, including Marvel Studios, Star Wars, Disney Animation and National Geographic.
“Our direct-to-consumer business is the company’s top priority,” said Chapek, “and our robust content pipeline will continue to drive growth.”
