The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Disney Plus users question record-breaking viewership announcement

Streaming service did not disclose any numbers when making a claim about its latest Marvel hit

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Fans have questioned Disney Plus’s decision not to disclose viewing figures, following a recent announcement about the success of its latest series.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, a Marvel series starring Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, debuted last Friday, with Disney announcing that it was the most-watched series premiere since the streaming service launched back in 2019.

No specific viewing figures were given, however, with Disney Plus simply saying that the series beat out WandaVision and season two of The Mandalorian to reach the top spot.

Disney Plus is not alone in keeping its viewing figures close to its chest. While traditional TV is monitored through the independent ratings service Nielsen in the US, streaming has never been subject to the same oversight.

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Netflix does not regularly release viewership ratings, but often discloses the audience figures for particularly successful series over social media.

However, the metric used to determine what qualifies as “watching” a film or TV series is also a matter of some debate. Netflix currently counts anything watched for at least two minutes as a “view”.

On Twitter, people questioned the opacity surrounding viewing figures on Disney, in the wake of the Falcon announcement.

“This is a useless metric as there’s no damn viewing figures provided so nice to see Disney+ copying Netflix in that regard,” wrote another. “These companies should be forced to say what there viewing figures are.”

“I’m certain that in at least half of all cases, the numbers are good for these streamers. Why don’t they release them if it means good press?” asked someone else.

The Hollywood Reporter’s Daniel Fienberg joked: “Seven people watched the premiere of Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+, beating the previous record of 5 people for WandaVision and 4 people for S2 of The Mandalorian. When actual numbers aren’t provided, I guess I just insert my own data.”

It’s worth noting that Disney’s subscriber base has grown considerably over the past year, which could account for the record-breaking viewership numbers for their latest outing.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is available to watch on Disney Plus now, with new episodes arriving every Friday. You can sign up here.