HBO’s Game of Thrones spinoff continues soaring to new heights.
House of the Dragon’s finale earned 9.3 million viewers Sunday night across all platforms, based on a combination of Nielsen and first-party data, according to HBO. It’s the highest finale ratings for a series from the network since Game of Thrones in 2019. The company also said the Season 1 episodes have been more than tripling their average debut night audience with catch-up viewing.
“We’re so thrilled to see House of the Dragon catch fire with Game of Thrones fans around the world, as well as new viewers who are discovering the world of Westeros for the first time,” Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO, HBO and HBO Max, said in a statement. “Congrats to George, Ryan, Miguel and the whole House of the Dragon team on an incredible first season.”
The series received the ratings boost despite several factors working against it. The show was going up against the likes of Sunday Night Football and the final game of the Major League Baseball ALCS between the Yankees and Astros for its finale. In addition, the HBO episode leaked days ahead of its Sunday debut.
House of the Dragon has been burning down records since its premiere on Aug. 21. The show debuted to the largest audience in the history of HBO and the best series launch on HBO Max across the U.S., Latin America and Europe. Episodes are averaging 29 million viewers in the U.S. alone.
And that may not even be the true audience for the series. The show is also a favorite for illegal streams and pirating.
Outside of the U.S., House of the Dragon even surpassed Game of Thrones Season 8 to become the network’s most-viewed title in Latin America, Europe, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan on an HBO streaming service.
The series has brought more attention to Game of Thrones overall. Thanks to the show, viewership for HBO’s fantasy series consistently earned month-over-month gains leading up the House of the Dragon premiere. Game of Thrones had its all-time highest weekly audience on HBO Max following the House of the Dragon debut.
A visual effects error in one of the episodes even had the Game of Thrones coffee cup back in the news. So it seems House of the Dragon certainly gave fans a lot to pour over.