Mon, 20 Oct 2025

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 Spike in Disney+ cancellations after Kimmel suspension

New data shows subscriptions dropped considerably after the late-night host’s temporary removal.
Disney+ and Hulu cancellation rates surged in September, doubling from 4% to 8% (3 million cancellations) for Disney+ and reaching 10% or more than 4 million for Hulu. The sudden increase in cancellations may be linked to Disney's brief suspension of TV host Jimmy Kimmel after he made comments about the shooting of Charlie Kirk. Kimmel was reinstated after a week due to public backlash, but the move sparked free speech debates and economic pressure on Disney. Critics had railed against ABC's decision as censorship and a violation of free speech. The data from analytics firm Antenna suggests that Disney may have taken a financial hit due to the backlash. Disney+ and Hulu lost more subscribers in September compared to recent months, while Netflix saw its churn rate remain steady at 2%. Despite the rise in cancellation rates, both Disney+ and Hulu saw an uptick in new sign-ups in September, offsetting some of the loss.
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