Spike in Disney+ cancellations after Kimmel suspension
15 hours ago Share Save Danielle Kaye Business reporter Share Save
Reuters Comedian Jimmy Kimmel was temporarily suspended last month
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. Data from analytics firm Antenna shows Disney+'s so-called churn rate - the percentage of subscribers who cancel each month - jumped from a 4% average to 8%, which equates to about three million cancellations, while Hulu's rose to 10% or more than 4 million. 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. ABC, which airs Jimmy Kimmel Live, reinstated him within a week after a backlash.
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 "Maga gang" was "desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them" and of trying to "score political points from it". The abrupt suspension came hours after Brendan Carr, chair of broadcast regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), threatened to revoke ABC's broadcast licence. The move was met with protests in California and lambasted by the writers and actors guilds, lawmakers and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Critics and First Amendment advocates had railed against ABC's decision as censorship and a violation of free speech. They also called for economic pressure on Disney, urging people to boycott the company's services. Hundreds of celebrities and Hollywood creatives signed a letter backing Kimmel, who was later reinstated.
Reuters Critics called for boycotts of Disney's streaming services