Disney+ Rockets To 50 Million Global Subscribers

Disney+ has now rocketed to some 50 million subscribers worldwide in just five months, after its launch in the U.S.

After-market trading following Wednesday's close saw Disney stock closing up a strong 7% to $108.15 on the news.

In the past two weeks, Disney+ was launched in eight Western European countries including the U.K., Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Switzerland.

Disney+ also became available last week in India, in conjunction with Hotstar, a free online video streaming platform. which accounts for 8 million of the 50 million Disney+ worldwide subscribers.

Disney says it looks to continue subscriber growth in other Western Europe territories as well as in Japan and Latin America later this year.

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In February, Disney said U.S. subscribers for the service totaled 26.5 million. Disney launched in early November benefited from a big Verizon promotion at launch which analysts believe will total at least 10 million U.S. subscribers for Disney+ by the end of 2020.

By way of comparison, the well-established Netflix -- a competitor to Disney+ -- has some 167 million worldwide subscribers and 61 million U.S. subscribers.

In the U.S., Disney+ is regularly priced at $6.99 a month. A trio package of Disney streaming platforms -- Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu (on-demand) services -- is priced at $12.99 a month.

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