Streaming services aren't exactly transparent with viewership data (that's a big part of why WGA and SAG-AFTRA members went on strike), prompting independent companies to try crunching the numbers. Among them is Samba TV, a group that collects data from only one type of television in approximately 2 million U.S. households.
As we first reported on SFFGazette.com, 863,000 households tuned into Ahsoka's season finale across a five-day period. In comparison, they believe 1.5 million households watched The Mandalorian's season 3 finale earlier this year, with the inference being that interest in the Star Wars Rebels follow-up has waned (Samba TV previously claimed 1.2 million households watched Ahsoka's premiere).
As expected, a lot of sites and social media accounts are using this as an excuse to declare the Star Wars franchise is "dead" thanks to the female-led series. Just to put the figures shared into context for you, though, Disney+ previously announced that Ahsoka's premiere received 14 million global views.
With that in mind, it's important to remember the show's eighth instalment would have drawn far more than 863,000 viewers. Even if Ahsoka suffered a similar drop in viewers on a larger scale, it wouldn't have been a bad result and, in all honestly, comparing Ahsoka to an established show in its third year doesn't really make sense.
It's apparent Ahsoka has been a hit for Disney+, even if it hasn't quite matched Din Djarin and Grogu's adventures. If nothing else, we'd say the show has performed well enough to justify both a much-needed second season and for Lucasfilm to continue developing Dave Filoni's planned Star Wars movie.
Disney may well share some official numbers so stay tuned for updates.
Set after the fall of the Empire, Ahsoka follows the former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano as she investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy.
In addition to Rosario Dawson in the title role, the series stars Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Hera Syndulla, the late Ray Stevenson as Baylan Skoll, Ivanna Sakhno as Shin Hati, Diana Lee Inosanto as Morgan Elsbeth, David Tennant as Huyang, Lars Mikkelsen as Grand Admiral Thrawn, and Eman Esfandi appearing as Ezra Bridger.
Ahsoka was written by Dave Filoni, who executive produces alongside Jon Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy, Colin Wilson, and Carrie Beck. Directors include Filoni, Steph Green, Peter Ramsey, Jennifer Getzinger, Geeta Vasant Patel, and Rick Famuyiwa.
All episodes of Ahsoka are now streaming on Disney+.