Disney reportedly lost 1.7 million streaming subscribers after Jimmy Kimmel suspension

Disney+, Hulu and ESPN lost 1.7m subscribers between September 17–23 , 436% above the usual rate

Disney lost 1.7 million paid streaming subscribers in the week following ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel, according to journalist Marisa Kabas.

The cancellations spanned Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN services between 17 and 23 September, a figure reported to be 436% above the typical rate for the same period.

The decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live came after pressure from President Donald Trump’s FCC, which urged local broadcasters to drop the show.

Kimmel’s return was announced shortly before Disney confirmed a price increase for its streaming services. Kabas reported the loss on Bluesky, though Disney has not issued a formal comment.

The suspension followed backlash to a comment made by Kimmel after the killing of political activist Charlie Kirk on a Utah campus.

Some interpreted his remarks as blaming Trump supporters, though Kimmel clarified this was not his intent. FCC chairman Brendan Carr seized on the controversy, calling Kimmel’s conduct “some of the sickest possible” in an interview before warning networks that continued support for the show would invite regulatory consequences.

Calls to boycott Disney’s streaming platforms spread rapidly across social media in the days that followed. Whether subscribers who cancelled will return now that Kimmel has resumed broadcasting remains uncertain.

President Trump has repeatedly expressed hostility towards late-night hosts critical of him, celebrating Stephen Colbert’s departure from CBS earlier in the summer and naming Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers as future targets.