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Credit: ABC
When ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! last month, the fallout didn’t just stay in late-night television. It spilled over into streaming, where it was reported that cancellations rose to 1.7 million during the week of September 17 to September 23 among those with a Disney+ subscription. The controversy didn’t just spark outrage but also created a curious phenomenon across Disney+ and Hulu.
Some subscribers rage-quit the Mouse House over Kimmel’s suspension, but others apparently rushed to join. According to Variety, data from research firm Antenna revealed that Disney’s two flagship streaming platforms experienced double their usual cancellation rates in September 2025, while also seeing a significant bump in new subscribers.
Credit: Walt Disney
What Were The Number Of Cancellations
On September 17, ABC, owned by Disney, announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would be suspended “indefinitely.” The decision came after the host made remarks about “the MAGA gang” and late conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s response to a recent high-profile murder case. That set off a political firestorm, prompting major ABC affiliates like Nexstar and Sinclair to pull Kimmel’s show from their schedules temporarily.
The reaction was immediate. Viewers voiced outrage across social media, threatening to cancel their Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions in protest. Apparently, many followed through on the threat, with Disney+ seeing its cancellation rate double to 8% in September, up from 4% in the two months prior, while Hulu’s rate spiked from 5% to 10%.
To put that in perspective, Antenna found the industry average cancellation rate across nine of the best streaming services (including Netflix, Paramount+, and Apple TV+) was around 7%. Meaning Disney’s platforms were feeling the heat.
Credit: Disney/Randy Holmes
The Cancellations Aren’t The Full Picture
Here’s where it gets weird. Despite the uproar, Variety reports that Disney+ and Hulu also saw more sign-ups in September than in the two previous months.
Disney+ added an estimated 2.18 million new subscribers, up from 1.99 million in August and 1.65 million in July. Hulu wasn’t far behind with 2.11 million new sign-ups, up from 1.97 million and 1.73 million, respectively. So while plenty of users hit “cancel,” just as many were joining in, maybe drawn in by the very controversy they were reading about.
It’s a streaming paradox that only the modern media and political landscape could create. There was, of course, outrage and curiosity coexisting in the same subscriber charts. Some users might’ve canceled out of frustration, while others may have signed up just to see what the fuss was about when Kimmel returned to air on September 23.
And return he did, with record-breaking ratings. Even with Nexstar and Sinclair still boycotting the show, Kimmel’s comeback episode pulled in the highest viewership numbers in the show’s history.
Credit: Disney+
Some Of The Cancellations Where Pure Economics
Of course, it’s not all about late-night drama. There’s another factor lurking in the background: more streaming price hikes.
Disney raised subscription prices across Disney+, Hulu, and their various bundles in late September, right in the middle of the Kimmel controversy. So not every cancellation can be blamed on political backlash, because some may have been simple math.
According to the outlet, Antenna’s data can’t distinguish between outright cancellations and subscribers “switching” plans (for example, downgrading from ad-free to ad-supported). In other words, some folks weren’t quitting Disney altogether but were just tightening their belt in a challenging economy.
If you zoom out, this episode says a lot about where streaming and the Disney empire stand in 2025. One industry analyst told the outlet that this kind of volatility may be the “new normal” for big entertainment brands. Streaming loyalty is fickle, but engagement —even controversial engagement —can still translate into growth.
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