Disney+ Sees Huge Uptick in Subscribers as Stay-at-Home Initiative Continues

As more and more people are being encouraged to stay at home to help flatten the curve set by the ongoing spread of coronavirus, along comes a need for a pass time. Online streaming services, including Disney+, are seeing more subscribers now that more families are at home.

Disney+ has recently seen a major wave of new subscribers sign-up, according to Forbes. Reporting on exclusively obtained data from analytics frim Antenna, Forbes said that Disney+ subscribers have tripled over the weekend of March 14th-16th when compared to the previous weekend. The data pooled was from opt-in consumer panels, according to Antenna.

Due to most businesses and schools being temporarily closed, households are now in need of more content to fill in their spare time. For Disney+, it appears as though the back catalogue of Marvel, Star Wars, and Disney classics fit the bill. This also includes the many Disney+ originals including The Mandalorian, According to Jeff Goldblum, and Highschool Musical: The Musical: The Series.

This news comes during a relative low-point for Disney. Over the past month, Disney has delayed the theatrical release of its two major spring blockbusters Mulan and Black Widow. It has also temporarily closed the gates on all Disney parks in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. While a boost in subscribers won’t necessarily act as a supplement for the loss in revenue, it most certainly does help.

Disney+ isn’t the only streaming service to have seen more traffic. In the same report, HBO Now gained a 90% bump, while Showtime saw a 78% jump. Forbes notes that those increases also contained free trails, which could fall off once the trial period ends. Netflix gained a respectable 47% boost in the same period, while Apple TV+ only saw a 10% increase.

Disney+ is also readying itself to be available in the UK today. Seeing as though the UK is on a strict stay-at-home lockdown order, Disney can likely expect a high number of households to subscribe to the service.

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