When Jimmy Kimmel was suspended, fans who were upset with the decision expressed their displeasure in various ways. One of those methods, specifically designed to hit Disney where it hurts, was to call for people to cancel their Disney+ subscription as well as their subscriptions to Hulu and ESPN. Even Tatiana Maslany and other celebrities joined in on the boycott.
The idea was that while Disney might not notice upset social media posts, they'd notice if the bottom line took a hit. If a new report is accurate, it looks like that may have actually happened, as a lot of people may have walked away from Disney's various streaming platforms.
Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Saw A Major Increase In Cancellations Following Kimmel's Suspension
Journalist Marisa Kabras was the first to report on the planned Disney+ price increase that followed shortly after Jimmy Kimmel’s reinstatement. Now, Kabras is reporting on Bluesky that a Disney source claims approximately 1.7 million subscriptions were canceled during the week of September 17 to September 23. While that’s a small fraction of the 207 million total subscribers the three services have, according to Disney’s last earnings call, it’s reportedly a 436% increase over the normal subscriber churn the services see.
If these numbers are accurate, then they are certainly significant. A 436% increase in churn is the sort of statistic that you’d expect Disney to notice. Kimmel even made a joke about the cancellations during his first show back following the suspension. While Disney’s exact decision-making process for bringing Kimmel back is unknown, it’s not hard to believe that the cancellations actually did have the desired impact.
Disney+ Announced A Price Increase Following Kimmel’s Return
The next question becomes, now that Jimmy Kimmel is back, will those subscribers who canceled their accounts return and resubscribe? There’s one pretty significant reason why many of them might not, and that’s the fact that next month, nearly every Disney+ subscription and bundle will see a price increase of $2-$3 per month in October.
Shortly after Kimmel’s return, the price increase that had reportedly been planned for months was officially announced. Price increases have historically caused subscriber churn on their own, meaning Disney could see additional subscriber loss following the price increase. It’s also possible that some of those who might've returned and resubscribed at the old price might choose not to do so specifically because of the price increase.
Disney has already announced that it will stop reporting its streaming subscriber numbers at the beginning of fiscal year 2026. With that, the upcoming Disney earnings call in November for Q4 of 2025 will be the last time official numbers will be given. Those numbers should include the fallout from the Kimmel cancellations, but won’t include whatever is lost by the price increase, as that will take place in Q1.
