The brief suspension of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" by The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) led to terms like "cancel Disney+" and "cancel Hulu" seeing searches hit 12-month highs.
A new report indicates just how many people may have cancelled their Disney streaming accounts after Kimmel's suspension.
Disney Cancellations Pour In Ahead Of Price Increase
Disney brought back the ABC late-night talk show last Tuesday, following a brief suspension of less than a week.
The return of Jimmy Kimmel Live! was Kimmel’s most-watched regularly scheduled episode and his most-watched monologue on YouTube ever.
While ratings were strong for ABC, the damage for Disney may already be done.
A report from The Handbasket newsletter, citing Disney sources, noted that 1.7 million subscribers cancelled their Disney+, ESPN and Hulu streaming accounts around the time period of Sept. 17 through Sept. 23. This represents a 436% increase above the baseline of subscriber churn for the media company.
Read Also: Disney Raises Streaming Prices: Is Disney+ Now More Expensive Than Netflix?
Streaming Impact Could Hurt Earnings
Regional network companies Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) and Sinclair Inc (NASDAQ:SBGI) ended their blackouts recently, which will result in more people in the U.S. having access to ABC and Kimmel's show.
Disney likely hopes that viewership remains strong for "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and that advertising rates increase, as the company could end up with fewer streaming subscribers paying monthly fees.
The current monthly price for Disney+ and Hulu plans is $10. Based on the low cost and the 1.7 million figure, Disney could be at risk of losing $17 million per month in streaming revenue, according to the report.
Disney is raising prices in October, with its ad-free plan increasing by $3 to $19 per month and its ad-supported plan rising by $2 to $12 per month. This means that with the price increase, Disney could risk losing $20.4 million per month in streaming revenue based on the low prices.
With some of the cancelled subscribers likely having higher-priced plans, revenue loss could be even higher.
Disney is expected to report fourth-quarter financial results in November. The company has beaten analyst estimates for earnings per share in nine straight quarters and beaten revenue estimates in four of the last five quarters.
Streaming revenue and Disney's DTC segment have been positive in recent quarters, but could become headwinds for the company and its shareholders.
The good news is that online searches for "cancel Disney+" and "cancel Hulu" have minimized since Kimmel's return.
Disney's quarterly results could better quantify the impact of Kimmel's suspension, but early reports suggest that people upset with how the media company handled the situation may have hurt the company's financials.
Disney Stock Price
Disney stock trades at $114.30 at the time of writing, versus a 52-week trading range of $80.10 to $124.69. Disney stock is up 3.2% year-to-date in 2025.
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