The Walt Disney Company‘s family-friendly streaming service Disney Plus has eclipsed 100 million subscribers, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
The milestone comes 16 months after Disney Plus launched in the United States, with the company quickly rolling it out to other countries in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Oceania since that time.
“The enormous success of Disney Plus…has inspired us to be even more ambitious and to significantly increase our investment in the development of high-quality content,” Robert Chapek, Disney’s chief executive, said in a statement on Tuesday. Chapek added that Disney is focused on a strategy that places more than 100 new movies and TV shows on Disney Plus every year.
Last year, Disney re-organized its company around its direct-to-consumer streaming services. Along with Disney Plus, the company operates the adult-oriented Hulu, an adult-oriented streaming service with a pay television aspect, and the sports-centric ESPN Plus.
Outside of the United States, Disney Plus also includes access to Star, a variant of Hulu with television shows and movies targeted at adults. Adding Star has helped Disney reach a new audience with Disney Plus through its catalog of adult-oriented television shows and movies, many of which were acquired through the company’s purchase of some TV and film assets 21st Century Fox several years ago.
In addition to its legacy film and television library, Disney owns the Star Wars franchise, and its hit series “The Mandalorian” was a quick draw for hard core fans of the brand.
Disney is now well on its way to catching up to Netflix, the global leader in streaming television with more than 203 million global subscribers. Disney is hoping to net between 300 million and 350 million global subscribers by the end of 2024.
