The Disney+ streaming service has attracted 28.6 million paid subscribers in the three months since launch on 12 November, Disney announced. For ESPN+ and Hulu, the number of paid subscribers as of 3 February went to 7.6 million and 30.7 million, respectively, according to figures released with the company's latest financial results.
Disney+ was first introduced in the US, Canada and the Netherlands on 12 November, and then brought to Australia, New Zealand and Puerto Rico on 19 November. Launch will take place on 24 March for other markets across Western Europe, including the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland, and will come to India through pay-TV provider Hotstar on 29 March. Additional Western Europe markets, including Belgium, the Nordics and Portugal, will follow in the summer, Disney announced.
Hulu, ESPN+ growing customers, ARPU lower
Disney also reported ARPU figures for the new service, at USD 5.56 per month. That compares to USD 4.44 at ESPN+ and USD 13.15 for the SVOD service at Hulu, the company's other direct-to-consumer streaming services. Hulu counted 27.2 million SVOD users at the end of 2019, up 29 percent from a year earlier, and ESPN+ more than tripled its base, to 6.6 million from 1.4 million in 2018.
Hulu reported a much higher ARPU including subscribers for its live TV service, at USD 59.47. The live TV service had 3.2 million customers at year-end, nearly doubling from 1.7 million in 2018.
In November 2019, the company began offering a bundled subscription package of Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu. The bundled offering has a lower price per service compared to the individual services, which dragged on ARPU figures, Disney said. Only the Hulu live service increased ARPU over the year, helped by price increases.
