Consumer sentiment around The Walt Disney Company and Disney+ has plunged following the temporary suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and news of upcoming streaming price hikes, according to an analysis by investment bank Jefferies.
The firm, which used weekly survey data from Morning Consult to analyze sentiment and brand awareness, found a sharp decline in Disney sentiment among both Democrats and Republicans in the last two weeks, with Democrats showing a larger drop than Republicans. For Democrats, the latest week marked the lowest sentiment for Disney in the last two years. For Republicans, it’s the lowest level since March.
“This is clearly a PR hit for Disney,” Jeffries analyst James Heaney wrote in a note to clients on Thursday. “But the data implies a smaller impact on Disney+ than the brand as a whole, which may limit the amount of streaming churn.”
The saga began on Sept. 17 when Disney pulled “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from ABC’s airwaves after Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcasting preempted the late night show indefinitely on their local affiliate stations over comments Kimmel made about Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin.
The move drew a wave of criticism and the Jefferies data highlights the continued fallout from Disney’s handling of the Kimmel situation. Democrats viewed the move as Disney capitulating to the Trump administration and an attack on free speech. Republicans slammed Kimmel’s comments as insensitive in the wake of Kirk’s murder.
Though Disney has not publicly confirmed how many streaming subscribers it lost from the Kimmel situation, independent journalist Marisa Kabas has reported that the total cancelations could be more than 1.7 million across Disney+, Hulu and ESPN between Sept. 17 and 23.
A Disney spokesperson did not return TheWrap’s repeated requests for comment on Kabas’ post.
Looking at a longer term stretch of two years, both Democrats and Republicans previously held an overall favorable view of Disney, with the former having a more consistently positive sentiment and the latter starting lower two years ago and only recently moving up in the last few months. That makes the drop last month much more dramatic.
As for Disney+, the last two weeks were similarly the lowest sentiment for Democrats, but there was a wider divergence between Democrats and Republicans in the latest week, with the former moving more sharply down, while the latter were closer to flat week over week.
Meanwhile, when looking at brand awareness, the last two weeks marked the highest awareness for Disney as a whole in the last two years, evenly split among both political parties. For Disney+, the spike in awareness was much smaller than usual and the lift came more from Republicans than Democrats.
The move would trigger protests from writers and union members, calls to cancel Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ subscriptions and an open letter from the American Civil Liberties Union signed by over 400 artists condemning the suspension.
Disney shareholders Reporters Without Borders Inc. and the American Federation of Teachers have also requested all available documents and communications surrounding Kimmel’s suspension, alleging the abrupt decision led to “significant declines” in the company’s stock. They argue there’s a “credible basis” to suspect Disney “may have breached their fiduciary duties of loyalty, care and good faith by placing improper political or affiliate considerations above the best interests” of the company and its stockholders.
Disney later explained it pulled Kimmel to “avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” adding that some of his comments were “ill-timed and thus insensitive.” Disney reversed its decision after the immense backlash and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” returned on Sept. 23.
The same day as Kimmel’s return, Disney said that it would be hiking prices on Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ subscriptions starting Oct. 21, which Heaney said could be another contributing factor to declining sentiment.
In its third quarter of 2025, Disney reported a total of 183.3 million subscribers across Disney+ and Hulu. When including ESPN+, the total subscriber count across the three services was 207.4 million. The company will report earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter on Nov. 10.
Prior to the Kimmel situation, Disney said it expected to add over 10 million subscribers this quarter, with the majority coming from Hulu as a result of its expanded deal with Charter Communications. Disney+ subscribers were expected to see a modest increase from the third quarter.
Heaney previously estimated that Disney will add 3.25 million Disney+ subscribers and 6.5 million Hulu subscribers in its fourth quarter, but acknowledged there “may be slight downside to those numbers from these recent events.” Similarly, Bank of America analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich expects “little impact” in the quarter related to churn from “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” but said there may be a “modest impact” in the first quarter of 2026.
Shares of Disney are down nearly 4% in the past month, but are up 27% in the past six months, 2% year to date and 20.9% in the past year.
