Walt Disney Co (DIS)

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Disney+ Tops 100 Million Global Paid Subscribers
By: TheStreet | March 9, 2021

• Disney's CEO says the entertainment giant's direct-to-consumer business is its top priority.

Walt Disney (DIS) said Tuesday that its Disney+ streaming surpassed 100 million global paid subscribers just 16 months since its launch.

Shares of the entertainment giant were down 3.06% to $195.73 in trading Tuesday.

CEO Bob Chapek made the announcement during the company's virtual annual shareholders meeting.

"Our direct-to-consumer business is the company’s top priority, and our robust pipeline of content will continue to fuel its growth," Chapek said in a statement.

Disney+ launched in the U.S. on Nov. 12, 2019, and has rolled out rapidly across Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Latin America, and most recently, Singapore.

In February, Disney said Disney+ registered nearly 95 million paid subscribers, more than tripling its total from its debut a year ago.

Chapek said the success of Disney+ inspired the company "to be even more ambitious, and to significantly increase our investment in the development of high-quality content."

"In fact, we set a target of 100+ new titles per year, and this includes Disney Animation, Disney Live Action, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic," Chapek said.

The coronavirus pandemic sparked a dramatic surge in streaming entertainment as theaters were initially forced to close in an effort to slow down the spread of the disease.

Worldwide viewing time grew 44% in the last three months of 2020, compared with the same period a year ago, the research firm Conviva said last month, led by the smart TV category with a 157% year-over-year increase in viewing hours.

Disney and Netflix (NFLX) led the field at the recent Golden Globe awards, reaping 15 trophies for their movies and TV shows.

On Friday, California officials said that theme parks could reopen on a limited basis as soon as April 1. Disney's theme park revenue tumbled 53% to $3.6 billion in the quarter ended Jan. 2.

Last month, Disney officially launched Star, a new streaming service that caters to more grown-up tastes and that marks the first major expansion to Disney+ since its November 2019 launch.

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