In 2016, Disney expressed its interest in moving into the streaming market. Two years later, American entertainment launched a new streaming service, Disney Plus. Disney Plus contributed 75% of the total Disney stake in just one year.
By the year 2019, Disney Plus became the top-trending Google search term. In just 24 hours of launch, the platform has reached over 10 million subscribers (some of which have signed up for pre-release).
As of 2024, Disney Plus is believed to have a revenue of $9.6 billion. This platform’s great strength is its content.
Initially, Disney Plus offered a smaller content library. But over the years, its content library has expanded and the platform became popular.
Disney Plus Key Statistics
Disney Plus initially offered its streaming services in just 3 countries, i.e., Canada, Netherlands, and US. Soon after, the platform expanded to different countries. Currently, it is operational in 100+ countries.
Globally, it has surpassed 100 million subscribers. It is more than the expectations of 60-90 million subscribers by 2024.
Here are Disney Plus key statics in brief:
- In 2021, Disney Plus generated $5.2 billion in revenue, an 85% year-on-year increase.
- By the fourth quarter of 2022, Disney Plus subscribers reached 164.2 million.
- After launch, Disney Plus had 200+ million downloads.
- 18% share of video-on-demand subscriptions is from the US.
- Around 65% of Disney Plus users in the US do not live with kids.
- Disney Plus has almost 89% of exclusive content.
Disney Plus Overview
- Launch Date: 12 November 2019
- Headquarters: Burbank, California
- People: Michael Paull, Eric Lieberman
- Business Type: Subsidiary
- Owner: The Walt Disney Company
Disney Plus Revenue
In 2021, Disney Plus reported increasing its revenue by 85%. The platform made $2.6 billion in 2019.
Disney Plus Annual Revenue 2020 to 2023 ($bn)
| Year | Revenue ($bn) |
| 2020 | 2.8 |
| 2021 | 5.2 |
| 2022 | 7.4 |
| 2023 | 8.4 |
Disney Plus Users
By the second quarter of 2022, Disney Plus was reported to have 137.7 million subscribers. It’s a 32% raise from 2021.
Disney Plus Annual Subscribers 2020 to 20233 (mm)
| Year | Subscribers (mm) |
| 2020 | 33.5 |
| 2021 | 103.6 |
| 2022 | 137.7 |
| 2023 | 157.8 |
Disney Plus Average Revenue Per User
Disney Plus reportedly has an average monthly revenue of $4.03 per subscriber. Unfortunately, it’s a 27.52% decrease since 2019 because the average subscribers generated previously was $5.56 per month.
With the increase in international market expansion, the average revenue per user has decreased. In Western Europe and the US, the subscription pricing of Disney Plus is low.
Disney Pus Average Revenue Per User
| Year | Average Revenue Per User |
| December 2019 | $5.56 |
| March 2020 | $5.63 |
| June 2020 | $4.62 |
| October 2020 | $4.52 |
| January 2021 | $4.03 |
Disney Plus Subscriber Retention Rate
Almost 73% of Disney Plus Bundle subscribers are known to be retained after 6 months. Out of all streaming platforms, it has the highest 6-month customer retention rate.
Out of the total Disney Plus subscribers, 72% again pay for the service after 6 months. Netflix also has the same retention rate, while Hulu has a 67% rate.
Among the new Disney Plus subscribers, 21% choose the annual plan, while the remaining users opt for the monthly plan. But over the years, the number of users choosing an annual plan has increased by 21%.
Here’s a brief overview of the popularity of Disney Plus payment plans:
| Year | Monthly Share (%) | Annual Share (%) |
| October 2020 | 88 | 12 |
| November 2020 | 81 | 19 |
| December 2020 | 80 | 20 |
| January 2021 | 80 | 20 |
| February 2022 | 84 | 24 |
| February 2023 | 76 | 21 |
Disney Plus is responsible for 6% SVOD. It is a 5% increase from the Q3 of 2020. Almost 13% of the SVOD sign-ups were made in January 2021.
Here’s Disney Plus Share of SVOD signups:
| Year | Market Share of Signups (%) |
| July 2020 | 27 |
| August 2020 | 13 |
| September 2020 | 13 |
| October 2020 | 13 |
| November 2020 | 16 |
| December 2020 | 19 |
| January 2021 | 13 |
Disney Plus Downloads
In 2021, the number of Disney Plus downloads increased from 110 million to 126 million.
Disney Plus Annual Downloads (mm)
| Year | Downloads (mm) |
| 2020 | 110.9 |
| 2021 | 126.8 |
| 2022 | 124.7 |
| 2023 | 103.7 |
Disney Plus Subscribers Worldwide
In Q1 2023, the number of Disney Plus subscribers dropped for the first time. It has 100+ million subscribers across several countries.
From March 2020 to March 2021, the platform added 66.5 million new subscribers.
Disney Plus Subscribers Growth from November 2019:
| Year | Subscribers (mm) |
| November 2019 | 10 |
| December 2019 | 26.5 |
| February 2020 | 28.6 |
| March 2020 | 33.5 |
| April 2020 | 50 |
| May 2020 | 54.5 |
| June 2020 | 57.5 |
| July 2020 | 57.7 |
| August 2020 | 60.5 |
| October 2020 | 73.7 |
| December 2020 | 86.8 |
| January 2021 | 94.9 |
| March 2021 | 100 |
Disney Plus Age Demographics
Disney Plus subscribers in the US make up 64% of the total users.
Here’s a breakdown of Disney Plus subscribers in the US as per the generation:
| Generation | Share (%) |
| Generation Z | 22 |
| Millennials | 42 |
| Generation X | 23 |
| Baby Boomers | 13 |
Disney Plus FAQ
Ques 1: How many shows are available on Disney Plus?
Ans: Disney Plus library consists of 7,500 TV episodes and 500 films.
Ques 2: How many people watched Mandalorian?
Ans: The popular TV show Mandalorian was watched over 14.5 billion minutes.
Ques 3: How much does Mulan make on its opening weekend?
Ans: Mulan made $33.5 million on the weekend after debuting on Disney Plus.
Ques 4: How much is Disney expected to spend on streaming content?
Ans: By 2024, Disney Plus is believed to spend between $14 to $16 billion on streaming content. Currently, the platform spends less than half of this amount.
Ques 5: What are Disney Plus’s gender demographics?
Ans: Disney Plus has 55% of male users, while 45% are female.
