Slow subscriber growth at Walt Disney’s streaming service in the last quarter was a speed bump as a slate of Marvel superhero films and sci-fi thrillers from the Hollywood powerhouse will attract new fans, analysts said.
The positive comments come a day after Disney Plus, the streaming service the company launched in late 2019, failed to reach as many subscribers by early April as Wall Street had estimated.
Netflix, AT&T’s HBO Max and Disney Plus have added millions of new subscribers during the pandemic as people stayed indoors.
READ ALSO: Disney Plus reaches 103.6 million subscribers worldwide
However, growth is expected to slow as production delays hurt film and TV shows, with the meteoric rise in subscriber numbers last year making comparisons difficult in 2021.
But analysts were largely optimistic over Disney‘s position in the market. Disney Plus launched 12 years after Netflix started a streaming video service, and has already reached about half of Netflix’s size in less than 18 months.
A steady stream of the hottest franchises is seen sustaining the lead for Disney Plus among traditional media companies for years to come.
“The benefit where Disney Plus is concerned is its content already exists, and doesn’t age in the same way many of today’s films do,” said Sophie Lund-Yates, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. “In the world of streaming, that is a godsend.”
Upcoming Disney Plus shows include Marvel’s “Loki”, Star Wars series “The Book of Boba Fett”, and “Black Widow” starring Scarlett Johansson.
The company is also investing heavily to make inroads in international markets, with plans to launch Disney Plus in Malaysia and Thailand next month.
Disney said it was on track to meet its target for 230 million to 260 million Disney Plus subscribers by the end of fiscal 2024. The company’s shares fell 3% on Friday, but for now, analysts are upbeat on Disney.
“We’d call the current slowdown but a speed bump given the assets Disney will bring to bear on streaming,” Wells Fargo said in a note. “The content pipeline is when, not if.”