Netflix May Fall Below Disney+ In Subscribers by 2026: Report

The mouse is about to take a huge bite out of Netflix. According to an analyst’s latest forecast, Walt Disney Co.‘s streaming service Disney+ will reach more subscribers than Netflix by just 2026, with the former rebounding after a slight slow-down in subscriptions earlier this year.

Digital TV Research shared the prediction in a report, also projecting that the number of subscribers to Disney+ should reach 284.2 million in 2026, which is still down from a 294.0 million estimate Disney made earlier in the year. Netflix, on the other hand, should have 270.7 million subscribers in 2026, down from an earlier estimate of 286.0 million.

“Three platforms will control nearly half the world’s SVOD subscriptions by 2026,” according to Digital TV Research. “Disney+ will be the biggest winner, overtaking Netflix in 2025. Disney+ will add 140 million subscribers between 2021 and 2026 to bring its total to 284 million. About 121 million of Disney+’ subscribers (43 percent of its total) in 2026 will be in the 13 Asian countries under the Hotstar brand.”

Netflix recently revealed its most popular shows and movies of all time. The 2020 period romance Bridgerton soared to the top on the series side, with Bird Box and Extraction taking the cake for movies. But the mega-streamers new big hit, Korean drama Squid Game, is set to overtake Bridgerton as the most popular Netflix Original of all time.

The streaming giant will reportedly add 53 million customers by 2026, “revealing growth even for the most established platform,” and Amazon Prime will hit 243.4 million users, the research firm predicts. Beyond that, Digital TV Research estimates that China’s Tencent will end 2026 with 98.7 million users, China’s iQiyi with 76.8 million and HBO right behind with 76.3 million subscribers. Meanwhile, Apple TV+ will have just 35.6 million users by then.

Overall, global SVOD subscriptions are set to increase by 491 million between 2021 and 2026 to reach 1.64 billion, Digital TV Research is projecting. China and the U.S. will account for 49 percent of the global total, which, while still notably high, is down from 56 percent in 2021.

“China and the U.S. had a similar number of subscriptions by end-2020,” said Simon Murray, principal analyst, Digital TV Research. “Due to government pressure, China’s growth is decelerating, with 354 million subscriptions expected by 2026. The U.S. will continue to grow, with 450 million subscriptions expected by 2026.”