Hulu saw its rate of cancellations double after Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show was temporarily pulled from the air, according to a new report.
Last month, ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! for about a week following comments the comedian made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
His suspension caused a wave of outcry from celebrities, politicians and others who believed pulling the show was a violation of free speech protections. Some went as far as to boycott Hulu and Disney+, streaming services of Disney, which is the parent company of ABC.
The rate of Hulu subscription cancellations spiked to 10 percent in September, up from 5 percent in August, according to data from subscription-analytics firm Antenna. Similarly, the rate of Disney subscription cancellations rose to 8 percent from 4 percent.
In total, Hulu lost 4.1 million subscribers while Disney+ lost 3 million in September, according to Antenna.
Disney announced within a week of his suspension last month Kimmel would be returning after “having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy.” The entertainment company explained it decided to suspend the show “to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country.”
Kimmel’s ratings skyrocketed following his suspension. He brought in a whopping 6.3 million views on television his first night back, according to data from audience measurement firm Nielsen. That’s triple his normal TV viewership, despite an estimated 23 percent of households not being able to watch on their local ABC stations due to a boycott of Kimmel’s show by station owners Nexstar and Sinclair that has since ended.
During his September 23 opening monologue, Kimmel choked up as he told his audience it was “never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” referring to Kirk.
It’s unclear how many Disney subscribers left because they were boycotting the brand, and how many just thought it was getting too expensive. Amid the Kimmel drama, Disney announced new monthly costs starting this Tuesday.
The price of the standalone Hulu with ads service is rising from $9.99 to $11.99 per month. The same is true for the basic Disney+ plan.
