• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, January 28, 2022

Two-year-old streaming service Disney+ has surpassed $2 billion in lifetime global consumer sales through app stores, according to a new analysis from App Annie. 

Just four other video streaming services can boast membership in “the $2 Billion Club,” according to the app monitoring service: Netflix, YouTube, Tencent Video and iQIYI. 

Of the 35 total mobile apps and games that have reached the $2 billion threshold as the analysis’ Jan. 25 cutoff date, only nine —including the five video streamers — are non-game apps. 

Disney+ was the No. 2 streaming app by global app store consumer spend in 2021, second only to YouTube, according to App Annie’s State of Mobile 2022 report. 

International expansion was a core growth-driver in 2021. The subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service’s top sales growth markets were the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Spain, Brazil, Italy and the Netherlands, respectively. 

Disney+’s footprint in terms of number of countries that have seen at least 1 million lifetime app downloads rivals that of Amazon Prime Video, despite having launched seven years later than Prime Video, App Annie points out. (See chart top of page.) 

Disney+’s exclusive content contributed to download growth. For example, during the 30 days after its release of “Luca,” downloads rose 40% compared to the prior 30 days. 

Disney+ has also leveraged exclusive streaming releases in tandem with theatrical releases, often requiring a subscription and additional one-off payment. 

“Strong IP through the Walt Disney Company, Pixar and Marvel Studios, among others, coupled with timely releases, helps to encourage new subscribers and long-term retention to the service,” the analysis notes.