Why Disney+ May NOT Outgrow Netflix as Analysts Previously Predicted

Disney+ launched in 2019 with the goal of increasing its subscriber base to 230-260 million by 2024. And, they’ve been on track to achieve this for the past two years.

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But, while UBS Analysts had previously predicted that Disney would surpass that expectation by 2024 (and potentially garner more subscribers than Nexflix), recent growth trends have analysts questioning if this is doable.

According to Forbes, Disney stock has declined by roughly 3% recently, with Barclays analysts citing the “slowing growth and the fact Disney+ has been producing far less new content than its chief competitor, Netflix” as the reason.

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And, with the recent subscriber trends, Barclays analysts shared that Disney+ would need to “more than double its current pace of growth to at least the same level as Netflix” if it hopes to reach its long-term subscriber goals.

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Though Disney stock has seen some downgrades recently, other research firms still predict that Disney+ will see success over the next 5 years, with Digital TV Research most recently estimating that Disney+ subscribers would outnumber those at Netflix by 2026.

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Keep in mind that Disney’s stock performance is also based on the success of their other streaming services such as Hulu and ESPN+ and those in the international markets like Hotstar.

Hulu President Kelly Campbell

For now, Disney has not released a recent subscriber total for any of their services, but we expect to hear an update at the upcoming Disney+ Day on November 12th, 2021. And, of course, we’ll continue to keep an eye out for more updates and other Disney news, so be sure to stay tuned to AllEars for the latest!