Disney's new streaming service has signed up nearly 29 million paid subscribers in less than three months, the entertainment giant has revealed.
The company launched the Disney+ service in November to compete with the likes of Netflix - which at the end of 2019 had signed up 167 million customers.
Chief executive Bob Iger said it had "exceeded even our greatest expectations".
Disney, which owns US broadcasters such as sports channel ESPN, as well as a film business including the Star Wars franchise, is investing in streaming to drive future growth at a time when more people are dropping cable subscriptions.
It features original series including Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian.
The latest figures came as Disney published first quarter financial results which also revealed a major impact on its theme park business as a result of the coronavirus outbreak in China.
The company revealed that the number of Disney+ subscribers had risen to 28.6 million this week.
It is targeting 60 million to 90 million subscribers by 2024.
But the growth is coming at major expense, helping pull Disney's profits down by 23% for the first quarter to $2.13bn.
The launch of Disney+ comes at the same time as Apple is also entering the streaming market with Apple TV+.
Disney+ is being rolled out over the next two years in western Europe, India and Latin America.
The quarterly results also saw Disney reveal some of the potential costs of the coronavirus on its earnings from theme parks.
It said that if the closures of venues in Shanghai and Hong Kong extend for two months, it could face a $175m hit.
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February 05, 2020 at 05:01PM
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Disney+ picks up 29 million subscribers in three months since it launched - Sky News
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