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1.7 Million Subscribers Leave In A Bizarre Week, Huge Drama For This Major Streaming Service
In September, Disney lost 1.7 million subscribers due to Jimmy Kimmel and the announcement of price increases, significantly impacting their streaming services.
Disney faced a notable loss of subscribers in the third week of September. Journalist Marisa Kabas reported via Bluesky that from September 17 to 23, more than 1.7 million paid subscriptions were canceled. This involved customers from Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN, as confirmed by an internal source at the company.
According to that same source, this number is well above normal churn rates. The increase amounts to a 436 percent rise compared to the usual attrition. The timing coincided with the temporary halt of the talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, a channel also owned by Disney. The program was paused on September 17 and resumed five days later.
The brief suspension led to national media attention. The debate was not only about entertainment but was mainly viewed as a matter of free speech. The previous comments by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and pressure from network groups Nexstar and Sinclair played a role in this. A wave of calls to cancel subscriptions emerged on social media, sometimes followed by actual cancellations.
Besides the conflict surrounding Kimmel, another factor came into play. On September 23, Disney announced price increases for Disney+, sparking further discussion. This timing makes it likely that a portion of the cancelers will not return soon, even now that the show is back on air.
Kabas's source also suggested that Disney intentionally advanced the return of Jimmy Kimmel Live. The company was reportedly aware that the price increase would be announced that same week and wanted to avoid both developments generating excessive negative publicity at once. How significant the effect of this combination will be in the long term remains to be seen.
According to that same source, this number is well above normal churn rates. The increase amounts to a 436 percent rise compared to the usual attrition. The timing coincided with the temporary halt of the talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, a channel also owned by Disney. The program was paused on September 17 and resumed five days later.
Freedom Of Speech
The brief suspension led to national media attention. The debate was not only about entertainment but was mainly viewed as a matter of free speech. The previous comments by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and pressure from network groups Nexstar and Sinclair played a role in this. A wave of calls to cancel subscriptions emerged on social media, sometimes followed by actual cancellations.
Besides the conflict surrounding Kimmel, another factor came into play. On September 23, Disney announced price increases for Disney+, sparking further discussion. This timing makes it likely that a portion of the cancelers will not return soon, even now that the show is back on air.
Strategic Timing
Kabas's source also suggested that Disney intentionally advanced the return of Jimmy Kimmel Live. The company was reportedly aware that the price increase would be announced that same week and wanted to avoid both developments generating excessive negative publicity at once. How significant the effect of this combination will be in the long term remains to be seen.
