The bad news is that 10 million customers tried to sign up for Disney+ on Tuesday, intermittently crashing the website for Disney’s (DIS) new streaming service.
The good news is that 10 million customers flocked to the newly launched streaming service and by Day Two issues had fallen to a rate of 200 to 500 every 15 minutes, according to complaint tracker Downdetector, from 8,000 complaints on Tuesday Day One.
The initial signup numbers argued to analyst Dan Ives at Wedbush Securities that the company could hit its target of 60 million to 90 million subscribers by 2022, two years ahead of its original 2024 goal. Ives also estimated that Disney+ and Apple’s (AAPL) new streaming service could lure away 10% of Netflix’ (NFLX) customers.
The strong initial interest in Disney+ drove Disney’s stock to a new record intraday and closing higher on Wednesday with shares closing at $148.72, up 7.32% on the day and above the record closing price of $146.39. Disney’s move higher contributed about two-thirds of the gains today in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which picked up 0.33% today.
I added Disney to my long-term 50 Stocks Portfolio on May 16, 2019. The shares are up 12.34% since that date.
