Elizabeth Parks, president and chief marketing officer of Park Associates, said Disney’s biggest risk in the short-term is potentially losing advertisers, but large-scale subscriber losses for Disney+ or Hulu are unlikely—although it’s certainly still possible.
According to research from Parks Associates, annualized churn rates for vMVPD and streaming services on average are 30% and higher, but churn rates for Disney, Hulu, and ESPN+ are relatively low at 17%, 16%, and 9%, respectively.
Parks added that if anything, the public backlash could at least impact local programming.
“If there’s public backlash against ABC and Disney due to show suspension, it could affect viewership of ABC network programming locally,” Parks said. “This could then affect ad rates or demand for slots on local ABC stations, especially in markets where ABC-affiliated stations are strong or high-rated.”
From the article, "People are boycotting Disney, Hulu, and ESPN after ABC yanked Jimmy Kimmel off the air. Will it work?" by Saleah Blancaflor
