Teknoku.me – The Walt Disney Company (Disney) recently published its company’s financial statements for the first quarter of 2021 which ended on January 2, 2021.
One of the highlights of this report is the surge in Disney Plus subscribers, so the number of subscribers targeted to be achieved in 4 years has been achieved in just about 14 months.
When the on-demand video platform was launched in November 2019, Disney Plus investors expected as many as 90 million subscribers in the next four years, or to be precise until 2023.
However, in the first quarter of the 2021 report, the initial target was actually achieved, even exceeded. . Disney Plus now has 94.9 million subscribers from around the world.
This number is an increase of 8.9 million when compared to Disney’s December 2020 report which recorded 86 million subscribers.
As the initial target has been achieved, Disney Plus investors are revising Disney Plus’s four-year targets. By 2024, Disney Plus is expected to have 230-260 million subscribers.
This increase in Disney Plus subscribers was likely driven by the release of several popular film and TV series titles, including the Soul film by Pixar, The Mandalorian series, and the WandaVision series by Marvel Studios.
In addition to the Pixar and Marvel Studios production houses, customers can also enjoy a range of film titles and series made by various well-known studios under the Walt Disney umbrella, including Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, National Geographic, and 20th Century Fox.
The Disney Plus subscription price will go up
Overall, Disney’s revenue from the streaming on-demand business (including Hulu and ESPN Plus services) increased 73 percent year-on-year with revenues of 3.5 billion US dollars.
Nevertheless, the average monthly income from paid Disney Plus customers reportedly dropped from the US $ 5.56 to US $ 4.03.
One of the factors is the launch of Disney Plus Hotstar for India and Indonesia in 2020. This service is known to charge significantly less than Disney Plus services in other regions.
To get around this, Disney plans to increase the subscription price in the US by one US dollar.
Starting March 26, Disney Plus customers will be charged US $ 7.99 per month or the US $ 79.99 per year.
Meanwhile, Disney’s bundling packages (Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus) will also increase to the US $ 13.99 a month.