This article is more than 5 months old

This article is more than 5 months old

Disney’s new streaming service has almost doubled its global subscriber numbers to 50 million since the coronavirus outbreak took hold in February, as lockdown conditions prove a boon for streaming services.

Disney+, which launched in the UK and most major western European markets last month, with hits including the Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian, has signed up 50 million subscribers just five months after launch.

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It took its rival Netflix, which has more than 160 million subscribers, seven years to reach the same milestone after moving from DVD rental by post to streaming in 2007.

Disney, which launched in Europe with lower streaming speeds to help ease the burden on broadband networks as millions are confined to their homes, last reported subscriber numbers on 3 February. At that time, just as the coronavirus started its rapid spread in China and beyond, Disney+ had 28.6 million subscribers.

Disney’s numbers are flattered through a number of offers with telecoms companies where it is given free to subscribers for a year. In India, for example, it gained 8 million subscribers overnight by being bundled with its existing Hotstar streaming service. Nonetheless, streaming services are booming, with global usage estimated to be up by 20%.

While coronavirus has brought much of the economy grinding to halt, the already crowded streaming market is seeing a flurry of launches. Earlier this week the mobile-first streaming service Quibi, created by Jeffrey Katzenberg, co-founder of DreamWorks, pressed ahead with its international launch.

The service, backed by $1.8bn in funding with investors including ITV and the billionaire Walton family, has signed up stars including Steven Spielberg, Idris Elba and Jennifer Lopez to make shows of not more than 10 minutes an episode, and films broken into “quick bite” segments.

Roku, a free streaming service that has proved hugely popular in the US, debuted the Roku Channel in the UK earlier this week. The service, in which Sky holds a stake, offers British fare including Skins, Homes under the Hammer and films such as Les Misérables.

Later this month another US import, Acorn TV, which competes with BritBox in the US, will arrive in the UK.

Acorn, which targets Anglophiles in the US, has shows including Foyle’s War, Keeping the Faith and Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. At £4.99, it is £1 a month cheaper than BritBox.