For months, HBO execs and their employees have been nervous: Will House of the Dragon, the prequel to Game of Thrones, be as watched as its predecessor? Do audiences really want to watch the white-haired ancestors of Daenerys Targaryen? Would audiences get fantasy-d out from the combined power of Dragon and the Lord of the Rings show (to say nothing of the more cerebral The Sandman)? Well, judging from the show’s premiere ratings, at least, everyone can chill.
It had already been reported that Sunday’s premiere had a huge viewership. But as per Entertainment Weekly, HBO finally released the official numbers, and it ain’t small: The episode hauled in a whopping 9.986 million viewers across both linear cable and HBO Max platforms. Not only is that nothing to sneeze at, but it’s also the largest series premiere audience in HBO history. For contrast, when it premiered back in 2011, the original Game of Thrones “only” pulled in 2.2 million viewers.
Samba TV, the third-party TV and streaming analytics company, had even more good news. They stated that House of the Dragon wasn’t only HBO’s biggest-ever opener but the biggest premiere of any premium cable or streaming show in the year so far.
The House of the Dragon premiere didn’t go off without any hitches. HBO Max suffered some issues due in part to how many people were watching it? So now we know what happens when almost 10 million sets are streaming the same show.
(Via EW)