Disney’s decision to lift Jimmy Kimmel‘s suspension may be becoming clearer after a new report claims that over 1.7 million paid subscribers cancelled their memberships across Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN after the late-night host was pulled off the air.
According to The Handbasket newsletter, between September 17 and September 23, the Disney streaming apps lost more than 1.7 million paid subscribers, representing a 436% increase above baseline subscriber churn. Disney previously reported 207.4 million subscribers across all three streamers during its third quarter.
Kimmel was “suspended indefinitely” on September 17 over comments he made about Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting on the September 15 edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live. This came after powerful station group Nexstar announced it would preempt the show on its 32 ABC affiliate stations. Sinclair Broadcast Group later announced it would be doing the same on its own affiliate stations.
Earlier on September 17, President Trump-appointed Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr told right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take actions on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Viewers and celebrity stars spoke out against Disney and ABC’s decision to suspend Kimmel, with many calling it an attack on free speech. Amid the backlash, fans urged people to boycott Disney by canceling their subscriptions to the company’s streaming services. She-Hulk star Tatiana Maslany and HBO’s John Oliver were two of many encouraging people to cancel Disney+.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! returned on Tuesday, September 23, after ABC and Disney lifted the suspension. Nexstar and Sinclair continued to pre-empt the show until Friday, September 26, when both companies announced the late-night show would return to the air.
Kimmel delivered huge ratings on his return to late-night, with 6.5 million viewers tuning in for Tuesday’s comeback — the show’s second most-watched broadcast in its 22 years on air. However, ratings dropped back down by Thursday’s (September 25) show, with an average of 2.3 million total viewers, a 64% drop from the Tuesday high.
Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Weeknights, 11:35 pm ET/PT, ABC
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