How many Disney+ and Hulu subscribers canceled in Q3 and Q4 2025, and what was the net revenue impact?
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Executive summary
Public reporting does not identify a single, audited tally of subscribers who canceled Disney+ and Hulu in Q3 and Q4 of fiscal 2025; independent trackers and media reports put gross cancellations in the millions but Disney’s official results show net subscriber growth and higher Direct‑to‑Consumer revenue and operating income for the quarter ending September 27, 2025 (fiscal Q4) — meaning the near‑term net revenue impact in Q4 was negligible and was more than offset by price increases, distribution deals and strong gross adds [1] [2] [3].
1. What the data actually says about cancellations
Multiple industry trackers and news outlets documented a large spike in cancellation activity tied to ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel and simultaneous price hikes in September, but those are largely reported as gross cancellations or elevated cancellation rates rather than a clean, audited count of subscribers lost for the quarter; for example, Antenna reported U.S. cancellation rates for Disney+ averaging 8% in September — roughly double prior months — and other outlets described doubled cancellation rates for Disney+ and Hulu that month [4] [5]. Independent reporting and newsletters circulated larger gross‑cancellation estimates — one widely cited figure put total gross cancellations at roughly 7 million across Disney+ and Hulu (often presented separately from net losses) and another itemized a 1.7 million one‑day/short‑window cancellation claim that included ESPN as well [1] [6] [7]. These estimates are useful signals of churn pressure but are not the company’s official net sub figures.
2. The company’s official net‑subscriber and revenue outcome for Q4
Disney’s own fiscal Q4 release shows the business ended the quarter with 196 million combined Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions, a net increase of about 12.4 million versus Q3, and Disney+ alone rose by 3.8 million during the quarter [2] [8]. At the same time Direct‑to‑Consumer revenue increased about 8% year‑over‑year to roughly $6.2–$6.25 billion in the quarter and the streaming unit’s operating income rose $99 million to $352 million, a 39% increase — all concrete indicators that the company’s top‑line streaming performance improved in Q4 despite the cancellation spike reports [9] [3] [2].
3. Reconciling gross cancellations with net growth — why revenue didn’t crumble
The apparent paradox — reported millions of gross cancellations alongside strong net adds and higher streaming revenue — is explained by three factors explicit in reporting: substantial gross adds and new distribution deals (notably Hulu’s expansion via Charter/Spectrum), price hikes and expanding ad‑supported tiers that raised ARPU, and timing effects where short‑term protest churn was offset by broader global sign‑ups and bundled distribution [3] [4] [2]. In other words, while some customers did cancel (and independent trackers flagged big spikes in September), Disney’s higher rates and new bundles translated to stronger revenue per remaining or newly acquired subscriber, and that combination produced an overall revenue and operating‑income uplift in Q4 [2] [3].
4. The net revenue impact: short term vs. uncertainties ahead
Measured strictly against reported quarterly numbers, the net revenue impact of the cancellation wave in Q4 was limited to none — Direct‑to‑Consumer revenue rose 8% and segment operating income increased to $352 million, so the company recorded a net positive streaming financial result for the quarter [2] [9]. However, the longer‑term revenue effect is harder to quantify from the public record because Disney will stop reporting paid‑subscriber and ARPU details beginning in fiscal Q1 2026 — a change the company says shifts focus to revenue, profits and ARPU — and independent churn estimates (e.g., the roughly 7 million gross‑cancellation claim) do not translate directly into a sustained revenue loss without clearer data on how many canceled accounts were later re‑acquired or replaced by higher‑value signups [1] [4].
5. Bottom line and journalistic caveats
The most defensible statement is this: reporters and trackers identified a meaningful spike in gross cancellations in September (millions by some counts), but Disney’s audited Q4 results show net subscriber gains (+12.4 million combined) and higher DTC revenue and operating income, so the immediate net revenue impact in fiscal Q4 2025 was effectively neutral-to-positive for the company; the durability of any political‑ or price‑driven churn and its medium‑term revenue consequences remain uncertain because Disney will cease detailed sub reporting going forward and because public cancellation estimates are not reconciled to Disney’s internal retention and re‑acquisition data [1] [2] [4].