How Disney+ stacks up to Netflix, HBO and other big brands so far
The newcomer has generated $20 million through in-app purchases
Disney+ continues to deliver with steady stream of content.
Disney+ debuted just a month ago but it’s already logging some impressive numbers.
The streaming platform — active in the United States, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and New Zealand — has been downloaded a whopping 22 million times since its launch, according to digital data website Apptopia. It’s currently ranked as the No. 1 app in the App Store and Google Play, and in the past week it averaged 9.5 million daily active users.
Plus, it’s generated $20 million through in-app purchases.
The newcomer to the streaming wars does fall a bit short in terms of total subscribers, likely due to it being available for such a brief time. Compared to its 10 million global subscribers, Netflix logs more than 160 million while HBO has roughly 130 million. (HBO started streaming outside pay-TV in 2015 and plans to launch HBO Max in 2020.)
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIS | THE WALT DISNEY CO. | 95.79 | -0.02 | -0.02% |
Disney forecasts its app will have between 60 million and 90 million total subscribers by 2024, however, and its already-existing international footprint, per Apptopia, could mean its actual opportunity size is at least four times larger than where it currently stands.
Its affordable price is also a selling point. A standard Disney+ plan starts at $6.99. That’s comparable to $4.99 for Apple TV+ but much cheaper than Netflix’s base plan at $12.99 and HBO Max’s expected base of $14.99. Each service has free or low-cost promotions, though, like Disney+ being free for a year to Verizon Wireless customers.
Needham & Company analyst Laura Martin and MarketWatch technology editor Jeremy Owens debate which streaming service or aggregator will do best in 2020.
Still, per the data, Disney+ “hasn’t penetrated society to the point that Netflix has.” While it offers a carousel of exclusive content, it has not yet built a library of original content. “Most of its content is shows and movies people have already seen,” said Apptopia.
Meanwhile, Netflix is expected to spend more than $14 billion this year on originals.
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Disney+ is already outperforming its competitors in terms of engagement, though. On a per-user basis, according to the data, Disney+ has nearly 6 percent longer average session times than Netflix and 8 percent longer than Amazon Prime Video.
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Disney’s stock is up 30 percent on the year.