A day after the premiere of Disney+, the subscription streaming service from Disney already has more than 10 million accounts signed up, the company announced Wednesday.
All of the sign-ups logged by Disney have access to a seven-day free trial of Disney+, with some of these accounts taking advantage of even more substantial free offerings. Disney offered certain Verizon customers a free annual subscription to Disney+, and Disney direct-to-consumer and international chairman Kevin Mayer said during a Nov. 8 press event that between 17 million and 19 million Verizon customers would qualify for the offering.
Still, the 10 million sign-ups nonetheless represent a remarkable figure for a media and entertainment giant that is hedging its future bets on streaming. Disney has said it expects Disney+ to have between 60 million and 90 million paid subscribers around the world in five years’ time. (For reference, Netflix, the biggest streaming service in the world, reported 158.3 million global subscribersand 60.6 million U.S. subscribers in the third quarter.)
Disney+, which costs $6.99 a month or $69.99 annually, has rolled out a number of deals to entice customers to sign up. The company is offering a discounted bundle of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ for $12.99 a month, and members of the Disney fan club D23 got access to deeply discounted three-year subscriptions in August.
A spokesperson for Disney did not respond to requests for information about the breakdown of the 10 million sign-ups. Disney+ will not be releasing subsequent subscriber information other than during its quarterly earnings, the company said.
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