The Jimmy Kimmel cancelation caused high subscription cancelation for Disney+ and Hulu

The Jimmy Kimmel cancellation was one for the books. The wave of uproar that arose in the industry after Kimmel's live show was cancelled was unmatched. Turns out, the subscription numbers for Disney+ and Hulu suffered the effects of this uproar as well.

According to recent numbers that have been released by Antenna, the streaming company faced high cancellation numbers in September, speculating the rise to be elicited by the Jimmy Kimmel Live! cancellation decision.

Keep reading to find out more about the effects of Kimmel's cancellation for the streamer.

Disney+ and Hulu faced high subscription cancelation in the aftermath of Jimmy Kimmel Live! suspension

ABC and Disney's decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel's Late Night show led to unprecedented outrage from the streaming service consumers. This outrage is visible in the subscription cancelation numbers for the streamer in the month of September.

On September 17, ABC announced that Kimmel's Late Night talk show would be cancelled indefinitely. This announcement came on the heels of the host's comments in relation to the ongoing investigation around the conservative activist Charlie Kirk's murder. Kimmel's comments resulted in two big right-affiliate groups, Nextar and Sinclair, preempting Kimmel.

This, paired with pressure from the Federal Communications Commission, led to the suspension of the show. The show remained suspended until September 23, when it was announced that Jimmy Kimmel was returning on air. Kimmel was brought back with his highest-rated episode despite the Nexstar and Sinclair boycotts. Even for the affiliate partners who had announced that they were preempting the show, they later announced that the blackout would be lifted.

However, the suspension resulted in an uproar of protest online as well as offline. From celebrities to the general public, the protestors vowed to cancel their Disney+ subscriptions. From Hollywood creatives to the media and the labor unions, everybody stood united in the backlash against ABC and Disney+, believing the suspension to be curbing their right to speech.

It appears these cancellations led to an increase in the subscription cancellation numbers. According to Antenna, the US cancellation rates for Disney+ were 8% (double the 4% two months ago). Hulu, on the other side, had a 10% cancellation rate compared to the 5% two months ago.

These numbers come in view of reports after the week of suspension that more than 1.7 million paid subscribers had canceled their subscriptions in the six-day period between September 17 and 23. The numbers accounted for a 456% increase above the baseline subscriber churn.

The increase in subscriber cancellation was also in light of the increase in price for the Disney+/Hulu bundle by $2 monthly, whereas the Hulu + Live TV with ads bundle would climb from $83 to $90 per month. However, along with the high cancellation, Disney+ and Hulu also witnessed an increase in average new subscribers.

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