As Netflix growth slows down, Disney Plus continues to gain subscribers. It added 11.8 million subscribers in the last three months of 2021.
Globally, Disney Plus now has 129.8 million subscribers. Disney CEO Bob Chapek predicts the service will have between 230-260 million subscribers in two years.
Its growth has been aided by the rapid international expansion of Disney Plus, aided by the overall rise in streaming.
With nearly 130 million subscribers just over two years after launching, Disney Plus has reached a milestone that Netflix took a decade to reach with its streaming service.
Disney Plus first launched in the USA and several other countries in November 2019. It arrived in the UK the following March. Netflix reached 130 million subscribers in 2018, 10 years after its streaming service was first launched in the USA.
Meanwhile, Disney has also completed a successful live streaming test, a first for the service, when it provided live coverage of the Oscar nominations earlier this week.
Bob Chapek said:
“This marks the final year of the Walt Disney Company’s first century, and performance like this coupled with our unmatched collection of assets and platforms, creative capabilities, and unique place in the culture give me great confidence we will continue to define entertainment for the next 100 years.”
Netflix meanwhile, has shown signs of stalling, with very little growth in countries including the USA and UK and few countries left to expand to. It last reported 222 million subscribers.