{"id":99569,"date":"2025-10-21T02:25:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T02:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=99569"},"modified":"2025-10-21T02:25:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T02:25:00","slug":"spike-in-disney-cancellations-after-kimmel-suspension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=99569","title":{"rendered":"Spike in Disney+ cancellations after Kimmel suspension"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Disney+ and Hulu cancellation rates doubled in September after TV host Jimmy Kimmel was briefly taken off air, suggesting the move may have hurt the entertainment giant financially.<\/p>\n

Data from analytics firm Antenna shows Disney+\u2019s so-called churn rate \u2013 the percentage of subscribers who cancel each month \u2013 jumped from a 4% average to 8%, which equates to about three million cancellations, while Hulu\u2019s rose to 10% or more than 4 million.<\/p>\n

Disney suspended Kimmel after comments he made about the shooting of Charlie Kirk, following pressure from a federal regulator. The decision sparked free speech debates.<\/p>\n

ABC, which airs Jimmy Kimmel Live, reinstated him within a week after a backlash.<\/p>\n

Disney, which owns ABC, decided on 17 September to take the comedian off air, two days after Kimmel had said, during one of his shows, the \u201cMaga gang\u201d was \u201cdesperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them\u201d and of trying to \u201cscore political points from it\u201d.<\/p>\n

The abrupt suspension came hours after Brendan Carr, chair of broadcast regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), threatened to revoke ABC\u2019s broadcast licence.<\/p>\n

The move was met with protests in California and lambasted by the writers and actors guilds, lawmakers and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).<\/p>\n

Critics and First Amendment advocates had railed against ABC\u2019s decision as censorship and a violation of free speech. They also called for economic pressure on Disney, urging people to boycott the company\u2019s services.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of celebrities and Hollywood creatives\u00a0signed a letter\u00a0backing Kimmel,\u00a0who was later reinstated.<\/p>\n

Critics called for boycotts of Disney\u2019s streaming services<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The new data from Antenna, released on Monday, offers the first indication that Disney may have taken a hit from the blow-back.<\/p>\n

Disney+ and Hulu lost millions more subscribers in September compared to recent months, while Netflix saw its churn rate hold steady at 2%.<\/p>\n

But it is not clear whether Kimmel\u2019s suspension was the only factor driving the surge in cancellations.<\/p>\n

Disney\u2019s move to suspend Kimmel coincided with its announcement of previously planned increases to subscription prices, as the company faces pressure to boost its profit from streaming services.<\/p>\n

Despite the rise in cancellation rates, both Disney+ and Hulu saw an uptick in new sign-ups in September, offsetting some of the loss, according to Antenna.<\/p>\n

Disney declined to comment and Hulu is yet to respond.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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