The Walt Disney Company revealed freshly launched video streaming service Disney+ attracted 28.6 million paying subscribers since its inauguration in November 2019, setting itself on the path to becoming a leading name on the market.

CEO Bob Iger explained the performance of Disney+ was boosted by “a variety of factors that include the uniqueness of the service, an excellent user interface and the high quality of our brands and content”.

“Although our volume will increase, we remain focused on providing quality content from our core franchises and brands, not just quantity, as we continue to build our portfolio,” he said.

Disney+ was introduced in the US, Canada and the Netherlands on 12 November 2019, and became available in Australia, New Zealand and Puerto Rico a week later.

Apptopia reported the service racked up 22 million downloads globally in its first month, 85 per cent of which came from the US.

The pace of uptake appears to have prompted the company to accelerate the launch of the service in the UK and other Western European markets. Iger said Disney+ will also be made available in India on 29 March, through streaming service Hotstar.

Disney+ is already putting pressure on streaming market leader Netflix, which recently reported slow growth in its US subscriber base in Q4 2019. The company, however, expressed confidence it will be able to keep up with the increased competition from new services.