The streaming wars are well underway and it looks like Disney+ has come out of the gate swinging. Despite the lack of R-rated content, the company’s new platform has already amassed ten million sign-ups as of this morning. This overwhelming demand explains some of the early glitches in the beginning and suggests that Netflix might be in some trouble.
The impressive number of subscribers began with pre-orders last summer and has increased by the day. Disney+ is now one of the most popular streaming services in North America just 24 hours after its limited launch. Executives had projected that the platform would draw in somewhere between 60 million to 90 million subscribers globally by 2024 and now it looks like they have a chance at vastly exceeding even their own high expectations. In comparison, Netflix has about 162 million global subscribers after revolutionizing the streaming wars about a decade ago.
Disney+ became available for customers on Tuesday in the U.S., Canada and the Netherlands and will arrive in other parts of the world on March 31st of next year. Due to the many properties owned by the Mouse House, the streaming service offers a lot of popular content for viewers to enjoy. Their catalogue of film and television shows includes material from Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, National Geographic and more.
On top of all of the classics already available, Disney+ is also creating original content to keep viewers busy. The Mandalorian is already available for consumption, while other projects are just on the horizon. Soon, the platform will become vital for both MCU and Star Wars fans to subscribe to if they want to keep up with what happens in future theatrical installments.
Of course, everyone expected Disney+ to be huge, but even those at the House of Mouse must’ve been surprised with such a big early turnout. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of what looks to be a staple of the television and film industry for many years to come.
