Disney lost 1.7 million streaming viewers after suspending Kimmel
Disney lost 1.7 million streaming viewers after suspending Kimmel
The suspension of the late-night host appears to have cost the company dearly.
Disney put itself between a rock and a hard place with its decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel from his late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Sept. 17. The company faced pressure from FCC chairman Brendan Carr calling for the comedian to be punished on one side and a chorus of free speech advocates demanding Kimmel’s return on the other. Perhaps more importantly, customers made their voices heard as well, as a new report indicates Disney lost 1.7 million streaming customers during Kimmel’s absence.
Key Details:
- Loud and clear: Disney lost 1.7 million streaming subscribers between Sept. 17 and Sept. 23.
- Mixed message?: A streaming price increase announcement on Sept. 23 did not drive any new cancellations.
- Restored: Kimmel is back on the air, including on Sinclair and Nexstar-owned ABC channels.
As reported by Marisa Kabas, Disney lost 1.7 million streaming subscribers between Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN during the period from when Kimmel was suspended on Sept. 17 and when he returned to his show last week on Sept. 23. Kimmel’s comments questioning the motivation of the man accused of assassinating right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk angered many conservatives, and following pressure from the Trump administration, Disney decided to pull Kimmel off the air.
The move was alarming to many Disney subscribers, who, in turn, made a statement with their wallets regarding what they thought was a drastic overreach of political authority. Disney chose the same week to announce that it was https://thestreamable.com/raising prices on all of its streaming services; that news filtered out on Tuesday, the same day that Kimmel returned to the air, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to attribute any of those cancellations to the announcement.
Kimmel’s return to the air drew over 6 million viewers, and while those ratings have returned to Earth since, it is evidence that a substantive portion of Americans were actively engaged in drama surrounding the comedian’s suspension, regardless of which side of the debate they came down on.
The show returned to airwaves for many on Sept. 23, but two large station-owning groups chose not to air the show for the remainder of last week. Nexstar and Sinclair Broadcasting Group own a significant portion of local ABC affiliates, including many in major markets, meaning that despite the lofty return episode numbers, they could have been even higher had more people had access to the broadcast. Regardless, both station groups began airing episodes of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Sept. 26.
Disney will stop reporting subscriber numbers for its streamers in the fourth calendar quarter of 2025, so it will be harder to track the long-term effects of its decision to suspend, then reinstate Kimmel. But in the short term, the results were a clear disaster for Disney thanks to an audience that looked drastically askance at the decision.
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”