Disney on Tuesday unveiled that it had surpassed 54.5 million Disney Plus subscribers across the world. With COVID-19 hitting the global market, the impact of the same has been varying for the company and it reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) from from 93% to $0.26 from $3.53.
“The response to Disney Plus even exceeded the highest expectations. Since our launch in November we continue to expand in other markets. In just five months we have passed 50 million subscribers globally. It’s a significant milestone for us” said Bob Chapem, Chief Executive Officer,Walt Disney. He further continued, “While the COVID-19 has had an appreciable impact on a number of our business, we are confident in our ability to withstand this disruption and emerge from it in a strong position”.
Disney+ subscribers base was 50 million on April 8 and has since bounced up by 4.5 million more newcomers. This only directly reveals how the lockdown has lured in more paid subscriptions from across the globe for the entertainment behemoth. The lockdown has people glued to other online platforms as well, recent reports from the company’s rival Netflix suggest. Netflix had reported of the rise in its viewers last month and a further addition of 15.77 million global paid net subscribers.
Disney also revealed numbers from other streaming services. Hulu and ESPN ended the quarter with 32.1 million and 7.9 million total subscribers respectively, which was up from 30.4 million for the former and 6.6 million for the latter, as compared to the end of the first-quarter results.
The growth at media works and studio entertainment, coupled with several international launches in Europe and India has helped Disney to reach this milestone mark. This rise is a positive sign when there have been news of forced closure of the company’s theme parks across nations and since second quarter profits dropped 91% to $475 million as a result of disruptions caused by the outbreak.
