The streaming wars have claimed another casualty, and this time it’s Disney+ dealing with the fallout. Following a catastrophic subscriber loss in October 2025, Disney is introducing incentives to prevent people from abandoning its services.
The latest attempt? A sweepstakes offering Disney+ subscribers the chance to win free tickets to Disney On Ice shows—six tickets per winner, valued at up to $270, valid through June 2027. On the surface, it appears to be a generous holiday perk. Dig a little deeper, and it becomes clear this is a company in damage control mode.
The numbers tell a brutal story. According to audience data firm Antenna, Disney+ and Hulu combined shed more than 1.7 million subscriptions in the weeks following the suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel in September 2025. That’s not a normal churn; it’s a mass exodus, nearly doubling Disney’s typical cancellation rate in a single period. Losing subscribers at twice the usual rate means every strategy focuses on stopping the bleeding and winning back customers.
The Kimmel situation created a perfect storm of negative publicity for Disney. After the host criticized conservatives for what he characterized as attempts to score political points off activist Charlie Kirk’s death and made comments about President Trump’s response to an assassination, ABC suspended him following pressure from Trump’s FCC Chair, Brendan Carr.
Major station providers, including Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair, temporarily dropped Kimmel’s show from their local affiliates before eventually reinstating it once Disney lifted its ban.
High-profile media figures like Howard Stern criticized Disney for suspending Kimmel and urged customers to cancel their subscriptions. The backlash was swift and effective, leading to millions of cancellations that compelled corporate executives to hold emergency meetings and strategize urgently.
The Real Purpose Behind Disney On Ice Tickets
Disney is promoting the “12 Days of Perks” campaign as a holiday benefit for loyal subscribers, aimed at fostering positive associations with Disney+ amid ongoing controversies. One highlight is a ticket giveaway for Disney On Ice, providing subscribers with real-world benefits beyond streaming.
Subscribers can enter daily at perks.disneyplus.com through December 19 at 8:59 a.m. PT, or until all prizes are claimed. Four winners will receive six non-premium tickets to a Disney On Ice show of their choice, valid through June 1, 2027, featuring shows such as Jump In!, Road Trip Adventures, and Frozen & Encanto.
The daily entry structure is strategic. It encourages subscribers to repeatedly engage with Disney+ properties beyond just opening the app to watch something. Every time someone visits the perks site to enter, they’re interacting with the Disney+ brand and reinforcing their connection to the service. For a platform hemorrhaging millions of subscribers, that repeated engagement matters.
Disney On Ice tickets carry genuine value, often costing $200 to $300 for a family of six. For families reconsidering their Disney+ subscription, the chance to win free tickets provides an incentive to maintain their subscription at least until the sweepstakes closes in mid-December.
Disney’s Broader Streaming Problem
This giveaway must be understood within the broader context of Disney’s streaming strategy and the challenges facing all legacy media companies as they transition from traditional television to direct-to-consumer platforms. Disney has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into building out Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ as the company pivots away from cable television toward streaming.
Investments in streaming services require a substantial subscriber base to generate returns. Losing 1.7 million subscriptions in a matter of weeks doesn’t just impact short-term revenue; it also affects long-term growth. This situation raises concerns about platform stability, brand strength, and whether the business model can sustain itself in an increasingly crowded streaming market, where consumers are becoming more selective about which services justify their monthly fees.
A source from Disney told The Hill that the cancellation figures reported by Antenna are higher than what the company is seeing internally and noted that the numbers do not account for Disney’s wholesale business. The source also claimed that streaming platforms experienced a sharp increase in audience once Kimmel returned to the air.
Even accepting Disney’s more optimistic internal numbers, the fact remains that the platform faced significant subscriber loss tied to a specific controversy, and the company is now implementing strategies to rebuild its subscriber base.
What Disney On Ice Offers
For subscribers who do win the sweepstakes, Disney On Ice shows provide legitimate entertainment value. The productions feature professional figure skaters performing choreographed routines in elaborate costumes, backed by theatrical lighting, projection effects, and live or recorded music. Shows like Frozen & Encanto combine two of Disney’s most significant recent animated film successes into a single performance, while Road Trip Adventures and Jump In! offer a broader range of character variety.
The shows tour major cities across North America, making them accessible to most subscribers without the need for extensive travel. Winners are responsible for their own transportation and lodging; therefore, families should either live reasonably close to a tour stop or be prepared to cover their own travel expenses. The tickets provided are for non-premium seating, which means you won’t be sitting in the front row. However, Disney On Ice is designed to be enjoyable from most vantage points in the arena.
The extended validity period through June 2027 provides flexibility. Winners aren’t forced to attend during the crowded holiday season. They can wait for convenient tour dates in their area over the next year and a half.
Damage Control Strategy
The “12 Days of Perks” campaign showcases Disney’s commitment to reminding subscribers that Disney+ offers value beyond its extensive content library. With competitors like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Max, Paramount+, and others competing for the same subscriber dollars, it’s vital to differentiate. Streaming services that offer real-world perks, exclusive experiences, or tangible benefits create a strong loyalty that pure content offerings often struggle to achieve.
For Disney, recovering from the subscriber loss in October means rebuilding trust and generating positive momentum. Each subscriber who participates in this sweepstakes, regardless of whether they win or not, engages with Disney+ in a way that fosters more favorable associations than focusing on the Kimmel controversy.
Every family that wins tickets and takes their children to Disney On Ice enjoys a positive experience associated with the Disney brand, reinforcing the value of keeping their streaming subscription.
Disney needs wins right now, both literally in terms of rebuilding subscriber numbers and figuratively in terms of public perception. A sweepstakes for Disney On Ice tickets won’t single-handedly solve the company’s streaming challenges, but it’s part of a broader strategy to stabilize the platform and convince people that Disney+ deserves their continued monthly payment.
If you’re a current Disney+ subscriber, entering the sweepstakes is free and takes only a minimal amount of time. You can visit perks.disneyplus.com to submit your entry. You can enter daily through December 19, and four winners will walk away with $270 worth of family entertainment.
Whether this giveaway successfully helps Disney recover from its subscriber crisis remains to be seen. Still, at the very least, some families will receive free Disney On Ice tickets as a result of the platform’s desperation.
4 winners (out of millions of subscribers) will win a 6 pack of “non premium” (ones that likely won’t be sold) tickets. Way to take a big risk there Disney.
They actually gained subscribers in thst quarter from the financial statements. Do your research you hack reporter.
We didn’t drop during the Jimmy Kimmel fiasco because we saw enough people had to make an impact and we enjoy having all the Mandalorian and Asoka, etc. But they have raised their price starting in January so now we have canceled. There just isn’t enough content (we own all the Marvel and Star Wars on disc) to be worth the increased price. So I would prefer they skip the stupid giveaway and just keep the price the same!