Disney Plus Will Expand In 42 Countries, New Threat To Netflix

JAKARTA - Disney loves to make Netflix nervous. The entertainment company is now planning to launch Disney Plus in 42 countries and 11 territories in the near future.

This plan expands its subscriber base massively which could pose a threat to other streaming services like Netflix and HBO Max.

The massive expansion could also help Disney kickstart its subscriber growth, which has been slowing. Disney Plus got off to a strong start, topping 100 million subscribers less than a year and a half after its November 2019 launch.

However, while Disney said in October that the service had only 118.1 million paid subscribers, that figure was only up 2.1 million from the previous quarter, compared with about 222 million paid subscribers Netflix had worldwide in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, HBO Max and cable channel HBO ended 2021 with a combined 73.8 million global subscribers.

Despite slowing growth, Disney Plus' latest animated feature, Encanto, was a smash hit, with 2 million US subscribers watching the film in its first weekend on the streaming service.

Like Netflix, Disney also continues to invest heavily into new content to try and attract subscribers.

Just this week, Percy Jackson writer Rick Riordan reiterated that a series based on the book is in development for Disney Plus, and earlier this month, Disney stated that Pixar's Turning Red will be leaving theaters for a premiere on the streaming service.

Where will Disney expand its Disney Plus services? Here is a list of new countries that get Disney Plus, as quoted from The Verge, Thursday, January 27.

Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, North Macedonia, Oman, Palestine, Poland, Qatar, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Vatican City, and Yemen.

And here's the list of regions:

Faroe Islands, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, St. Pierre, and Miquelon Overseas Collective, land Islands, Sint Maarten, Svalbard & Jan Mayen, British Indian Ocean Territory, Gibraltar, Pitcairn Islands, and St Helena.