ABC’s decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel’s show may have triggered a wave of cancellations
In September 2025, Disney+ and Hulu saw a huge spike in cancellations after ABC briefly pulled “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from its schedule.
According to data from Antenna, Disney+ lost about 3 million U.S. subscribers and Hulu dropped around 4.1 million. The churn rate, how many people cancel each month, doubled from August to September. Disney+ went from 4% to 8%, and Hulu jumped from 5% to 10%.
This spike came shortly after Jimmy Kimmel’s show was taken off the air on September 17th, following backlash over comments he made about conservative figure Charlie Kirk.
While new signups also increased that month, the number of people leaving the platforms was much higher than usual.
The timing has led many to believe that a boycott may have influenced the drop. While we can’t say for sure why every person canceled, the data shows a clear connection between Kimmel’s suspension and the cancellations.
