Disney+ and Hulu cancellations increase following ABC’s removal of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’

Disney+ and Hulu saw an increase in subscription cancellations during the time that ABC briefly paused “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” This data comes from Antenna, a subscription analytics company. The show was taken off the air for less than a week in September due to backlash over comments made by Jimmy Kimmel about conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

In September, Antenna estimated that there were 4.1 million cancellations for Hulu and 3 million cancellations for Disney+. The churn rate, which measures the percentage of customers who cancel their subscriptions in a given month, doubled from 5 percent in August to 10 percent in September for Hulu. For Disney+, the churn rate increased from 4 percent in August to 8 percent in September.

Despite the rise in cancellations, both Hulu and Disney+ saw an increase in signups in September compared to the previous five months. Antenna specifically tracks U.S. consumer data but does not include subscribers in bundle deals.

According to Disney’s most recent earnings report, which ended on June 28, they reported a total of 183 million subscriptions for Disney+ and Hulu combined. Disney declined to comment on the situation.