On Wednesday, Disney shares jumped as much as 10% after announcing its streaming services collectively reaching 100 million total subscribers worldwide, according to Variety. In less of year of its initial launch, Disney+ took part in garnering 60.5 million of these subscribers. The release of Hamilton and Beyoncé’s visual album Black is King aided in an increase of signups just this past month. Similarly, older Disney+ original releases such as The Mandalorian and High School Musical: The Musical also garnered more viewers to the streamer, especially when it was initially launched in November. The Series Mulan’s live-action remake will also be released on September 4 at $29.99 plus the $6.99 monthly subscription fee which has garnered even more viewers.
Head of U.S. Media Research at investment banking company Morgan Stanley Benjamin Swinburne said in a statement that “Out of both success (Disney Plus) and necessity of (COVID-19 disruption), Disney is moving to push its streaming strategy to new levels of investment and growth,” via Variety. While Disney’s stock jumped this week, Netflix’s dipped slightly by less than 1% in early trading.
The release of a live-action Mulan to Disney’s most successful platform further helps the company gauge their subscribers’ willingness to maintain their subscriptions in order to utilize the streamer’s premium films and TV shows. Meanwhile, Disney+’s strong viewerships and streaming compensated for the immense financial pressure placed on Disney’s theme park businesses with the closures due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Disney+ maintains the third spot in terms of top video streaming services by subscribers, with Amazon Prime Video at 150 million and Netflix leading with 193 million.