Disney+ will hold a special fan day on 12 November, with new releases and exclusive offers for subscribers. The event coincides with the expansion of the service to more Asian markets. It comes as Disney warned of a slowdown in subscriber growth in recent months.
The Disney+ Day will include the streaming premiere of Marvel Studios’ 'Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings', adventure film 'Jungle Cruise', Disney+ Original movie 'Home Sweet Home Alone', and a new series of shorts from Walt Disney Animation Studios called 'Olaf Presents', based on the Frozen snowman. Other new shorts include the film 'Ciao Alberto' from Pixar, featuring characters from the film 'Luca', and a short from 'The Simpsons' that pays tribute to Disney+’s brands. In addition, the new series 'Dopesick' starring Michael Keaton will be released in international markets as part of the Star platform.
Marking the second anniversary of Disney+, the day also gives subscribers access to promotions and experiences at Disney Parks and Resorts, Disney Cruise Line and shopDisney.com. The company's other properties will further promote the event, including ABC, Disney Channel, ESPN and ESPN+, Freeform, FX, Hulu and National Geographic in the US, and owned channels abroad.
Disney+ will make its debut in South Korea and Taiwan on 12 November and in Hong Kong on 16 November.
Slower subscriber growth due to Covid
The fan day was announced the same day Disney CEO Bob Chapek told an investor conference that subscriber growth had "hit some headwinds". Speaking at a Goldman Sachs event, Chapek said Disney+ subscriber growth would be in the "low single-digit millions" in the company's fiscal fourth quarter to September. This is less than stock market analysts expected, and Disney's shares closed down over 4 percent on the day.
The CEO blamed the slowdown on the Covid-19 pandemic, which halted important cricket matches in India, was affecting some economies in Latin America and had led to delays in content production.
Disney+ counted 116 million subscribers at the start of July, after adding 12.4 million in the previous quarter.
