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Disney+ Earns A Global A+

by Alex Kirschenbaum Jun 01, 2022

With recent news of streaming top dog Netflix’s challenges in the marketplace, let’s take a gander at one of its chief competitors: Disney+ continues its ascent among the upper echelon of streaming platforms. Across the first three months of 2022, the House of Mouse continues to make massive gains. The streamer, which debuted in November 2019, added 7.9 million new subscribers in the year’s first quarter, per a company announcement.

Our pals at JustWatch, the movie lover’s resource for finding the current streaming homes of virtually any cinematic title, have compiled a fascinating chart tracking the global streaming video on demand (SVOD) trends during the lifespan of Disney+. It should be noted that this chart essentially tracks international engagement in terms of JustWatch users.

It should come as no surprise that Disney+ has seen robust interest around the world, thanks in large part to its tried-and-true family-friendly branding.

The two heaviest hitters, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, have remained by far the two most sought-after streaming sites around the world since January 2020, the start of this chart. Disney+ currently stands at 18% of the SVOD market in terms of JustWatch interest. HBO Max has also seen significant growth. Those two streamers specifically appear to be the biggest threats to the worldwide dominance of Netflix and Prime Video. Since January 2021, Netflix has lost 5% of international JustWatch user interest, while Prime Video has lost 4%.

How has Disney+ ascended so quickly, while so dramatically distancing itself from every competitor save HBO Max? It appears that a calculated, staggered international rollout seems to have abetted its slow build. Disney+ debuted stateside in November 2019, but did not kick off in Europe until March 31st, 2020. It has continued debuting across territories steadily throughout the next several years. Even in 2022, Disney+ is still adding fresh terrain, with launches in 42 new countries set for this summer.

Another big feather in its cap: appealing to families. Though the other streamers all offer sizable kid-friendly fare, Disney+ prioritizes the family films and television shows for which its parent brand has been primarily known for 99 years. Beyond that clever route into capturing such a big-ticket demographic, Disney+ has leaned heavily on exploring its existing IP to intrigue fans. This year already, a somewhat subversive Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers live action/animation feature mashup has debuted exclusively on the platform, alongside an Obi Wan Kenobi miniseries. In the coming months, Disney+ will unveil shows and films based on some of its most popular properties, including some Marvel Cinematic Universe fare (Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law), lots of Disney followups and reboots (Disenchanted, a live-action Pinocchio remake, Hocus Pocus 2, a live-action Peter Pan and Wendy, a Three Men And A Baby remake but presumably without the coke dealer subplot), and another Lucasfilm legacy sequel series (a Willow show, albeit with no direct Val Kilmer involvement in its first season).

All this said, Disney+ apparently is still losing money, and exploring the addition of a payment tier that will include commercials in between its programming. The streamer hopes to match or better Netflix’s current international tally of 222 million subscribers by 2024.

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