San Francisco, Mar 10 (IANS): Disney's video-on-demand streaming service Disney Plus (Disney+) has surpassed 100 million global paid subscribers, up from the 94.9 million the company reported last month.

According to The Verge, speaking at an annual shareholders meeting, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said that the milestone has "inspired us to be even more ambitious."

"The enormous success of Disney+ -- which has now surpassed 100 million subscribers -- has inspired us to be even more ambitious, and to significantly increase our investment in the development of high-quality content," he was quoted as saying in the report on Tuesday.

The surge in subscribers likely came from holiday streaming releases of major titles like Pixar's Soul and the final episodes of The Mandalorian's second season in December.

Disney+ is now available in 59 countries and continues to increase its stake in the global streaming market.

Netflix still holds the top spot with over 200 million subscribers.

Disney is planning to help boost those numbers in the coming months, with its first price increase for the service in the US set to arrive this month.

Starting from March 26, Disney Plus will cost $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year (up from $6.99 a month or $69.99 per year), the report said.

The Disney bundle -- of Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus — will also see a $1 increase to $13.99 a month.