Disney saw its stock price spike by more than $10 per share on Wednesday, following its announcement that more than 10 million people have already signed up for Disney+.
The company’s shares rose more than 7% and closed at $148.76 per share on Wednesday. It’s continued to rise slightly in after-market trading.
Disney said earlier on Wednesday that more than 10 million people have signed up for Disney+, which debuted Tuesday. Disney is offering a free 7-day trial for all users. The company has been taking sign-ups for Disney+ since August, offering subscriptions for $6.99 a month, $69.99 for a year, or as part of a $12.99 monthly bundle with Hulu and ESPN+.
Disney has projected to reach 60-90 million global subscribers by 2024, the same year it expects the service to be profitable. Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives previously told TheWrap he believes Disney+ needs 20 million subs in its first year to be on track. The first time Disney will report any hard subscriber figures will be during its next quarterly earnings in early 2020.
The strong showing comes amid some technical issues for the service. Soon after its launch early Tuesday morning, many consumers complained about not being able to sign up or watch some of the content after they logged in. Eager customers shared several different error messages on Twitter, with some users being met with an “unable to connect” alert. Others were greeted with “Error. Sorry something went wrong. Please try again later.”
“The consumer demand for Disney+ has exceeded our highest expectations. While we are pleased by this incredible response, we are aware of the current user issues and are working to swiftly resolve them,” a Disney spokesperson told TheWrap on Tuesday morning. “We appreciate your patience.”