Disney+ Sees Sudden Drop in Subscribers After Jimmy Kimmel Drama

Disney+ and Hulu saw a big jump in people canceling their subscriptions last month. This happened right after Jimmy Kimmel was briefly suspended from his show on ABC. A company that tracks subscriptions, Antenna, shared the data. They found that Disney+ cancellations doubled from 4% to 8% in September. Hulu saw an even bigger jump, from 5% to 10%. This spike in cancellations is unusual. Normally, the number of people leaving these services stays pretty steady. Other streaming services like Peacock, Paramount+, and HBO Max have seen more stable numbers. Netflix, the biggest player, has the lowest cancellation rate at just 2% per month. The reason for the spike? Many people were upset about Jimmy Kimmel's suspension. He made a comment on his show that some people thought was offensive. The comment went viral, and many fans took to social media to express their anger. Some even called for a boycott of Disney+. Disney brought Kimmel back to his show after just a few days. But the damage was already done. Even Kimmel's friend, radio host Howard Stern, said he canceled his Disney+ subscription in protest. However, the data shows that many people who canceled might have quickly returned. Sometimes, people make loud protests but then quietly come back. There are some questions about the data, though. Disney says the numbers might not be entirely accurate. They point out that Antenna's data might include people who changed their subscription plans instead of canceling. Also, Disney was planning to raise prices around the same time, which could have contributed to the spike in cancellations.