The launch of Disney+ back in November was much anticipated among fans; however, now that the initial excitement has passed — and the first wave of free trials have expired — are fans still interested in the streaming service? Disney+ finally brought the majority of Disney’s films and TV shows to one place. Whle many fans quickly subscribed to the site within the first few days, a large majority of these subscribers utilized free promotions according to IMA Research. So, the question is, how many people are really subscribed to Disney+?
Upon launch, there were several free promotions available for Disney+. The first being a universal seven-day free trial to the streaming site offered by Disney. The second was a free year-long subscription provided to Verizon customers. The promotion through Verizon performed well above Disney’s original expectations, and has been a main contributor to earning a large subscriber count in such a short period of time.
In the first five days after launch, Disney+ received over 15 million subscribers. However, studies done by IMA Research found that 40% of the 1,097 people surveyed between Nov. 14 and Nov. 17 (during the week of Disney+’s launch) would use free promotion regardless of if they had already subscribed or planned on subscribing. While this is only a small portion of Disney’s 15+ million subscribers, it speaks volumes to the actual amount of people willing to pay for the streaming service.
The Real Number of Disney+ Subscribers
The streaming service offers several packages, the first is $6.99 a month for just Disney+. The second is $12.99 a month for a bundle of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+. The last is a $69.99 annual fee, which was even reduced for Cyber Monday. By looking further, IMA Research discovered that 52% of those who intended on subscribing and 56% who were unsure thought that the service was offered at a fair price. But, only 33% of those who didn’t intend on subscribing said that the price was fair.
The free promotions seem to be keeping many subscribers away from paying for Disney+. Why pay if you don’t have to? Despite this, in a recent report by CNBC, Credit Suisse, an investment banking company, says that they are raising their expected subscriber count for Disney+ from 14.3 million to 20 million by the end of the year. The main reason? Verizon subscriber accounts exceeding original expectations. This means that the majority of the subscriber numbers are coming from those utilizing free promotions.
With Disney+ releasing in Europe and Latin America in 2020, the subscriber numbers are only expected to rise. However, it will be interesting to see whether or not these numbers start to fall once free promotions expire.
More: Disney+ Reportedly Exceeds 15 Million Subscribers In First 5 Days
