Jimmy Kimmel’s Suspension Triggered a Staggering Number of Disney Streaming Cancellations
For anyone who joined the protest against Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension from the airwaves by canceling streaming apps, it appears to have made a significant impact. Several noteworthy names who either work with or have worked with Disney publicly spoke out, pushing back on the decision to suspend Kimmel, while others posted cancellation messages after closing their accounts.
Shortly after the news, Exhibitor Relations also posted a walk-through of how to show your support by pushing back, and the first three steps all included cancelling core Disney streaming products. This included Disney+, Hulu and ESPN, which are all either owned by or linked to the company.
Data Reveals the Significant Number of Disney Streaming Cancellations
The impact of the immense pushback on Kimmel’s suspension, paired with the public push by many to cancel Disney’s streaming services, reportedly led to a significant number of people following through. According to journalist Marisa Kabas, Disney saw a total of 1.7 million paid subscriptions get canceled between Sept. 17-23, a number that included Disney+, Hulu and ESPN.
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Kabas proceeded to highlight just how staggering those numbers are, citing that the number was 436 percent above baseline subscriber churn.
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This is an incredible increase from the norm, and it highlights just how significant the pushback from Kimmel’s suspension was. It’s unknown whether subscribers return (or how many) since Kimmel's reinstatement, but that could make for another interesting data set worth monitoring.
'Jimmy Kimmel Live’ Numbers Since Late-Night Host’s Reinstatement
Kimmel’s return to late-night television on Jimmy Kimmel Live! debuted with a record number of viewers for the show on Tuesday of last week, pulling in 6.3 million viewers in his first night back, per The Independent.
While Fox News reported a 64 percent drop in viewership by Thursday of the same week, it’s noteworthy that the 2.3 million viewers is still an increase from his quarterly average. Jimmy Kimmel Live! was averaging roughly 1.77 million viewers during the second quarter of 2025, as The Independent highlighted.
It’s unknown whether the show will sustain an increase in viewership going forward, but even the bump from 1.77 million to 2.3 million is a solid increase. Regardless, it’s highly unlikely this is the last we’ll hear or see about public drama surrounding Kimmel’s show, but for now, he’s back in business and has gone about business without having to make any significant changes, it seems.
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