Digital TV Research has projected that the number of Disney+ subscribers will surpass the amount of Netflix viewers by 2026. The report indicates that Disney+ will have 296 subscribers by 2026 and Netflix will only have 288 million subscribers by then. Disney+ is likely to have more subscribers than Netflix by 2026 because it will more than likely be available in more countries. In fact, Netflix will likely have more subscribers than Disney+ in the countries where they compete head-to-head. The only country where Disney+ will likely outperform Netflix is India.
“Disney+ Hotstar will roll out to 13 Asian countries by 2026. These countries will supply 108 million (37 percent) of the global Disney+ subscriber total, but only $2.62 billion (13 percent) of the platform’s revenues by 2026. Hotstar subscribers pay less than a third of the monthly subscription fee of their U.S. counterpart,” Simon Murray of Digital TV Research told The Hollywood Reporter.
Disney+ and Netflix are expected to outperform their global competitors by a large margin. The report indicates that Amazon Prime will have earned 184 million global subscribers by 2026. Meanwhile, HBO Max is projected to have about 50 million subscribers. Rounding out the top five, Apple TV+ is projected to have 11 million subscribers globally by 2026.
