When ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show on September 17, 2025, few could have predicted just how quickly the ripples would spread through the entertainment giant’s streaming business. But by the time Kimmel returned to the airwaves less than a week later, the fallout was already making headlines—and hitting Disney’s bottom line in a very public way.
According to newly released data from subscription analytics firm Antenna, both Disney+ and Hulu saw their monthly cancellation rates, or churn, double in September. Disney+ churn shot up from a steady 4% in August to 8% in September, while Hulu’s rate jumped from 5% to 10%. In raw numbers, that’s about three million cancellations for Disney+ and more than four million for Hulu in the United States alone, as reported by BBC and The New York Times. To put that in perspective, these figures represent a dramatic surge from the three-month averages of 1.2 million for Disney+ and 1.9 million for Hulu.
The catalyst? On his September 15 show, Kimmel made a remark about the suspect charged with the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, saying the "MAGA gang" was "desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them" and accusing them of trying to "score political points from it." The comment quickly went viral, sparking outrage across conservative circles and prompting a swift response from ABC. Within two days, the network announced the indefinite suspension of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"—a move that came just hours after Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carr threatened to revoke ABC’s broadcast license, according to BBC.
The backlash was immediate and fierce. Protests erupted in California, and the decision was slammed by writers and actors guilds, lawmakers, and organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who viewed the suspension as censorship and an attack on free speech. Hundreds of celebrities and Hollywood insiders signed letters supporting Kimmel, and calls for boycotts of Disney products, especially its streaming services, began trending on social media. Tatiana Maslany, star of Disney+’s "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law," urged her followers to "Cancel your @disneyplus @hulu @espn subscriptions!" on Instagram, amplifying the movement.
Even high-profile media personalities joined the protest. Howard Stern, Kimmel’s friend and influential SiriusXM host, publicly stated on his show that he had canceled Disney+ in solidarity. The message was clear: for many, Disney’s decision to suspend Kimmel crossed a line.
Yet the story didn’t end there. On September 23, ABC reinstated Kimmel, and his return episode delivered the show’s highest-ever TV ratings, despite ongoing boycotts from major affiliate groups like Sinclair and Nexstar, as noted by Variety. The controversy had transformed Kimmel’s suspension into a national debate about media freedom, political pressure, and the power of consumer activism.
But were the mass cancellations solely a reaction to the Kimmel controversy? The timing complicates the narrative. On the very day Kimmel returned, Disney rolled out previously planned price increases for Disney+, Hulu, and their bundled plans. The ad-supported Disney+ plan jumped to $12 per month (up $2), while the premium plan rose to $19 (up $3). Hulu’s rates also climbed. Disney justified the increases in an email to subscribers, citing the need to fund more original content and improve the user experience. According to The New York Times, while past price hikes had led to only minimal churn, the September 2025 spike was unmistakably tied to the Kimmel drama.
Despite the surge in cancellations, there was a silver lining for Disney. Both Disney+ and Hulu saw a notable uptick in new sign-ups. Disney+ added about 2.18 million new subscribers in September (up from 1.99 million in August), while Hulu brought in 2.11 million (up from 1.97 million). The increases may have been driven by several factors: some consumers supported Disney’s original decision to suspend Kimmel and wanted to show their backing; others were lured by aggressive marketing of bundled deals that included Disney+, Hulu, and the new ESPN streaming app, which began offering the full lineup of National Football League games in September. As The New York Times pointed out, it’s possible that the so-called "blowback to the blowback" played a role, with new subscribers counterbalancing those leaving in protest.
Still, the overall impact was significant. The industry’s weighted average cancellation rate across nine premium services—including Netflix, Apple TV+, HBO Max, and others—was just 7% in September, according to Antenna. Netflix, the perennial leader, maintained its remarkably low 2% churn rate, underscoring how unusual the Disney+ and Hulu spikes were. Before September, Disney+ and Hulu had been among the most stable services in terms of customer retention.
It’s worth noting that Antenna’s numbers, while widely cited, come with caveats. The firm’s methodology is based on millions of consumer opt-in transaction records, but it does not capture subscriptions made through Disney’s wholesale streaming business, such as its distribution deal with Charter. The data also doesn’t distinguish between outright cancellations and subscribers who may have switched, upgraded, or downgraded their plans. As a Disney source told The Hollywood Reporter, the actual churn may be lower than Antenna’s estimates, and many protest cancellations tend to subside quickly as users quietly return.
For Disney, the timing of these events is particularly sensitive. The company had 128 million core Disney+ subscribers and 55.5 million Hulu subscribers as of the end of June 2025. But starting with its fiscal 2026 first quarter results—the last three months of 2025—Disney will stop reporting subscriber numbers and average revenue per user (ARPU) for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. The company argues that these metrics have become "less meaningful to evaluating the performance of our businesses." That means the September churn spike may be one of the last times investors and the public get a clear look at Disney’s streaming subscriber base.
As for the long-term consequences, it remains to be seen whether the Kimmel controversy will have a lasting effect on Disney’s streaming fortunes. The company is scheduled to release its September 2025 results on November 13, and while some protest-driven cancellations may not be reflected due to billing cycles, the episode has already become a cautionary tale about the intersection of politics, media, and business in the digital age.
One thing’s for sure: what started as a late-night monologue quickly became a real-world stress test for Disney’s streaming empire, revealing just how swiftly public sentiment—and subscriber numbers—can shift in today’s polarized climate.
