Disney's Going All-In on Direct-to-Consumer

It's been less than nine months since Disney (NYSE: DIS) launched Disney+, and it's already reached its five-year subscriber outlook. CEO Bob Chapek announced the streaming service reached 60.5 million subscribers this month. Last April, Disney said it didn't expect to reach its 60 million to 90 million subscriber target until 2024. It didn't take very long to realize that outlook was way too conservative.

The early success is only making Disney more aggressive in pursuing its direct-to-consumer strategy. ""Given the rapid changes in consumer behavior, we believe it is more important than ever that we continue to grow our direct relationship with our customers," Chapek said during the company's third-quarter earnings call.

To that end, he made two big product announcements and also noted plans to expand its content investment in Disney+ to reach as wide an audience as possible.

Source Fool.com