Disney has revealed that over 10 million people have already signed up for its streaming service. For context, the company’s own Hulu has ‘just’ 28 million total customers Disney+ has already racked up over a third of that subscriber base. Netflix has over 60 million subscribers in the US, but it also took years to reach that kind of viewership.
Disney+ didn’t say how many of those had signed up on launch day versus taking advantage of weeks of pre-orders. There’s no question that Disney has been determined to get as many day-one customers as possible, though. The re-orders included discounted three-year plans, and some Verizon customers will get a free year of access.
The real question, as you might have guessed, is whether or not this will translate to success in the long run. There’s no guarantee that customers using promotional offers or one-week trials will commit once they have to pay full price, and it’s unclear if there will be enough content to keep people watching once they’ve had their fill of Star Wars and Marvel movies. Disney+ is likely to keep growing, but the ceiling for that growth remains to be seen.
The numbers are better than expected for Disney+, but that doesn’t mean the actual launch went very smoothly. A few hours after the service first went live, once people started waking up and downloading the app, Disney+ began to glitch and crash for thousands of people around the country.
According to Disney, the login issues and streaming problems stemmed from the massive amount of people trying to use the service at once, a total that was much higher than the company had initially anticipated.
“The demand for Disney+ has exceeded our highest expectations,” the company stated in a tweet. “We are so pleased you’re excited to watch all your favorites and are working quickly to resolve any current issues. We appreciate your patience.”
