‘Ahsoka’ Drives More Engagement for Disney+ Than Any Other Star Wars Show Besides ‘Andor,’ ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’
Disney is breathing a heavy sigh of relief this week, as its carriage dispute with the second-largest cable provider in the United States is now resolved. The streaming aggregator ReelGood has more good news for the House of Mouse, specifically related to ratings for its newest Star Wars live-action series.
That would be “Ahsoka,” which first premiered on Disney+ on Tuesday, Aug. 22. According to ReelGood’s data, “Ahsoka” has driven 165 times the engagement of the average streaming show in its first two weeks of availability on Disney+. The show debuted in ReelGood’s Top 10 during its first week of availability, and raced into the top spot during its second week.
That means that “Ahsoka” is the third most-popular Star Wars series to debut on Disney+ in the service’s history in terms of engagement. Only “Andor” (198 times the engagement of an average show) and “Obi-Wan Kenobi” (236x) did better for Disney+ than “Ahsoka” after two weeks of availability.
“Ahsoka” follows the adventures of former Jedi Ahsoka Tano. In the years following the fall of the Galactic Empire, Tano has traveled the galaxy attempting to keep the peace. But when she catches wind of the possible return of Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn, Ahsoka knows she must stop at nothing to prevent it, even if it means never seeing her old friend Ezra Bridger again.
The series is performing better than all seasons of “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett” for Disney+, suggesting it’s not just familiarity with the characters that’s driving the popularity of “Ahsoka.” As big-name Disney movies like “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” falter at the box office, it’s more critical than ever for Disney to keep producing hits on its streaming platforms.
The success of “Ahsoka” can be seen as a vindication of Disney's franchise-first strategy, which it’s using to help turn around heavy losses from its streaming segment. The company may be seeing some fatigue from its Marvel productions, but its Star Wars series are continuing to drive strong engagement, and “Ahsoka” is just the latest example.
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”