On Tuesday, Disney disclosed the launch date for Disney+ in the Nordics. The debut will be September 15th and Mediavision can reveal that the interest for the service is already strong. Close to 1.5 million Nordic households claim they have plans to sign up. If they follow through on their plans, it would immediately make Disney one of the largest SVOD services in the Nordic region.

In November 2019, Disney+ launched in the US and instantly attracted 10 million subscribers. Distribution of Disney+ in the US includes a bundling with ESPN and Hulu, which likely has boosted the penetration.

The service comprises a strong line-up of Disney content and a substantial catalogue of favourite brands and characters. Original content is a cornerstone of this new venture; original content spend is expected to reach USD 1 billion in 2020, increasing to USD 2.5 billion by 2024. In April, the service added more markets (including UK, France, Germany, and India) and by May the subscriber count was close to 55 million, according to Disney. The company projection is to reach 60-90 million subs’ worldwide by 2024.

Mediavision can reveal that consumer interest for the service here in the Nordics is substantial. Amost 1.5 million households said that they were interested in signing up for the service already in Q1 2020. The interest is particularly pronounced in households with kids – no surprise – and among those that already have SVOD. The conclusion? An even stronger competition is to be expected as the fall rolls in – both over new and stacking SVOD households. Another interesting fact from our Q1 analysis, is that the Norwegians are the most eager Disney fans – here the stacking factor is already the highest. So far, no deals with operators (B-SVOD) have been communicated in the Nordics.

If Mediavision’s pre-launch analysis of Q1 holds true, and assuming that other actors retain their subscriber base, Disney+ would become one of the top services in the Nordics. Price per month for Disney+ is set slightly below other services available in the market – closer to Apple TV+’s lower price point of EUR 4.99. The service will be available for in EUR 7.88 Finland, NOK 69 in Norway, SEK 69 in Sweden, and DKK 59 in Denmark.