Disney+ Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) boss Karl Holmes highlighted 80 percent advertising revenue growth in the U.K. and what he called a “leading” young adult audience share among streamers in the country.
Speaking at the Enders TMT (Technology, Media and Telecom) Leaders Live conference in London on Thursday, the general manager, Disney+ EMEA stressed that in the U.K., “our grown-up audience is emphatically young – more so than any other streaming platform.” Citing BARB in-home viewing data for the U.K., he said that “almost 40 percent of viewing hours on the Disney+ platform are from 16-34s. That’s higher than the equivalent for Netflix, Prime, Paramount+, Apple TV, or even YouTube.”
A chart he showed listed Disney+ at 39 percent, Netflix at 32 percent, Prime at 27 percent, Paramount+ at 23 percent and Apple TV at 20 percent.
Emphasized the executive: “The young adult audience is one we know and understand well and has an incredibly strong affinity for the franchises and content at the heart of Disney+.”
Touting “strong growth across customer numbers, engagement and advertising,” Holmes also told the conference: “Today, we are very much in growth mode, right across the board: Our EMEA customer base is growing fast, up by more than 25 percent since the start of 2025. Over the same period, those customers are choosing to watch more, with growth of more than 10 percent in average viewing per retail subscriber.”And the ad tier, which launched in the U.K. in late 2023, has also been a growth engine. “Our advertising business is accelerating dramatically, with revenue in the U.K. alone up 80 percent year-on-year,” Holmes said.
