Disney reportedly lost 1.7million subscribers after Jimmy Kimmel Live! was suspended due to comments relating to the murder of Charlie Kirk.
ABC, which is owned by Disney, suspended the late night talk show, which has run since 2003, on September 17 after comments made by the TV host following Kirk’s death.
Kirk was shot in the neck and killed at Utah Valley University’s campus on September 10, and, following the incident, Kimmel suggested that the signs pointed to Kirk’s shooter being a Donald Trump supporter.
Returning to his show last week (September 23), Kimmel addressed his comments regarding the shooting of Kirk, saying he never intended to “make light” of the murder, but stopped short of apologising for them. He also directed criticism at the President, whom he claimed “wants to see me and hundreds of people who work here fired”.
SCOOP / UPDATE — Disney saw more than 1.7 million total paid streaming cancelations during the period 9/17-9/23, a Disney source confirms to me. The total includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN.
— Marisa Kabas (@marisakabas.bsky.social) 2025-09-29T17:19:55.663Z
According to The New York Times, the TV host’s return drew 6.2million viewers – nearly four times the usual audience, despite 20 per cent of ABC’s network affiliates refusing to air the episode.
Now, according to Marisa Kabas, founder of the newsletter The Handbasket, more than 1.7million subscribers cancelled their subscription to Disney+, Hulu and ESPN during the period Kimmel was off air.
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Fellow TV host Stephen Colbert also made similar comments last week, claiming that “after Kimmel was suspended, Google searches for ‘cancel Disney+’ and ‘cancel Hulu’ spiked”.
NME has reached out to Disney for comment on Kabas’ claims.
Kabas also claims that Disney were due to announce price increases for the streaming service, which “may have hastened the ABC parent company’s major decision to bring Jimmy Kimmel’s late night talk show back on air”.
The same day Kimmel went back on air, Disney (via The Guardian) announced the cost of a Disney+ and Hulu package will increase from $10.99 (£8) to $12.99 (£9.66) in the US, while an ad-free plan with both will still cost $19.99 (£14.86) from October 21. Plans with Disney+, Hulu and ESPN, with ads, which were previously $16.99 (£12.63), will also rise to $19.99.
Despite this, a company spokesperson told Bloomberg that the price increases were planned for months and unrelated to the Kimmel controversy.
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