The Walt Disney Company has confirmed a further increase in global subscribers to its popular streaming service.
According to the company’s latest financial results, Disney Plus subscriber figures topped 116 million worldwide in July. The increase beats investor predications.
Recent additions including Loki and Luca boosted figures by up to 12.4 million during the second quarter of 2021.
But roll-out of the service in Eastern European countries has been pushed back to 2022. This means Eastern Europe will form part of a wider roll-out in summer 2022 that will include parts of the Middle East and Africa.
The subscriber increases mark a doubling of subscribers year-on-year, and means the gap between Disney Plus and Netflix continues to shrink. Netflix last reported subscribers figures of 209 million.
All streaming services were boosted by pandemic lockdowns in 2020. It remains to be seen how many subscribers keep all of the services they subscribed to in the past year.
Global subscriber figures
Netflix 209 million
Disney Plus 116 million
Discovery Plus 15 million*
Figures from the most recent announcements per company by 12th August 2021. *pre-Olympic figure.