Two weeks after its glitch-filled launch, Disney+ is averaging nearly a million new subscribers a day, new data shows.
The $6.99-per-month streaming service’s mobile app has been downloaded 15.5 million times, according to numbers from research firm Apptopia. And people are forking over money to use the service rather than just ride the wave of its free trial, the data shows.
The new streaming platform — which features content from Disney as well as Disney-owned properties like Marvel and the Star Wars franchise — raked in $5 million through in-app purchases in its first 13 days, according to Apptopia.
Subscribers can also pay for the service through the Disney+ Web site, however, and that data was not captured by Apptopia.
“This shows the company is gonna be a legit competitor to the likes of Netflix, despite the skeptics that continue to doubt the House of Mouse,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told The Post. “The pricing, the content and the bundling was just a pure genius strategy from Iger and Disney,” Ives said, referring to Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger.
A day after Disney launched its new streaming service on Nov. 12, the Mouse House said it racked up 10 million subscribers — beating expectations and sending the stock soaring.
To put the numbers in perspective, Netflix, the current king of video streaming, boasts more than 60 million paid subscribers in the US and 97 million internationally. The company, headed by Reed Hastings, moved from sending DVDs of movies through the mail to primarily streaming them in 2008.
Apptopia’s research also suggests strong demand for Disney’s $12.99-per-month streaming option, which includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, by showing that the Disney app has dramatically increased downloads for the other apps. Hulu downloads are up close to 55 percent in the past two weeks, while ESPN has seen downloads increase by more than 50 percent.
“I think everyone’s best bet is to bundle streaming services for the consumer so they don’t have to bundle it themselves,” said Joanna Piacenza, senior data editor at Morning Consult.
Disney+ racked up 25.6 million daily viewing sessions over the past week, according to Apptopia.