Disney+ now has more than 118 million global paid subscribers, Disney announced today in its earnings report for the fourth quarter of 2021 [PDF]. The streaming service has gained 2.1 million subscribers in the last quarter, and 44.4 million subscribers over the course of the last 12 months.
In November 2020, Disney+ had 73.7 million subscribers, so its growth over the last year has been astronomical. Disney+ has exceeded all expectations since it launched in November 2019. When the service first came out, Disney said that it wanted to reach 60 to 90 million subscribers by 2024, a milestone that it hit before the end of 2020.
Disney now expects to have 230 to 260 million subscribers worldwide by 2024, and if Disney reaches that goal, Disney+ will have more subscribers than Netflix does today. As of October 2021, Netflix has 213.5 million subscribers worldwide.
Netflix and Disney+ are two of the most popular streaming services, with subscriber counts that outpace other services like Hulu and Apple TV+. Hulu has 43.8 million subscribers, but Apple has never shared subscriber numbers for Apple TV+.
Apple TV+ and Disney+ launched at the same time, but Disney+ has seen much more rapid growth because of its back catalog of Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars content, along with popular new shows like "The Mandalorian," "WandaVision," "Loki," and "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier."
Apple is working hard to bolster its selection of original movies and TV shows, but it will take years for Apple TV+ to have a catalog that can compete with the offerings of other streaming services.
Back in April, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Apple TV+ is going "very well" and that Apple feels "really good" about where Apple TV+ is at.
