So sweeping has been consumer acceptance of Walt Disney's (DIS -0.45%) streaming service in its first year of operation that Disney+ is now expected to generate over $4 billion in revenue in the next two years.
The industry watchers at eMarketer say the service's revenue will hit $1.94 billion by the end of 2020, but with the $1 price increase coming next year, that will catapult Disney+'s contribution to the entertainment giant.
Image source: Walt Disney.
House of Mouse powerhouse
Ever since launching in November 2019, Disney+ has been a commercial success, racking up an astounding 86.6 million subscribers in its first year of operation.
While it got a big assist from Verizon Communications, which offered various customers free one-year subscriptions, which Disney is now beginning to lap, then-CEO Bob Iger said they amounted to only 20% of the first quarter's total subscriptions.
There are other promotions still out there that will slightly artificially inflate the numbers, but it's clear Disney+ has been an unmitigated success that even eMarketer sees as soon being able to challenge Netflix (NFLX -0.51%).
It forecasts that by the end of 2022, the combined streaming services of Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ will generate some $12.36 billion in revenue for Disney compared to $12.95 billion for Netflix.
Certainly, Disney+ got a tremendous boost from the pandemic as families with young children eagerly signed up for the library of Disney programming. It might not be able to keep reporting such meteoric growth, but analysts still see it expanding its subscriber base, potentially hitting 194 million by 2025.
