9.986 million people watched the premiere of “House of the Dragon” on Sunday night across linear and the HBO Max platform. In all of HBO’s history, this new original series has drawn the most audience.
The weekly-released 10-episode series chronicles the tale of the Targaryen civil war, which occurred around 200 years before the events in “Game of Thrones.”
The prequel series faces significant risks. It comes just as newly appointed CEO David Zaslav is trying to cut fat. At the freshly combined firm, cost-cutting tactics like hiring cuts and removing HBO Max programming have become standard practise.
With “Game of Thrones” as its predecessor, HBO’s “House of the Dragon” had some fairly huge shoes to fill. HBO’s greatest series debut in its history happened because it appears that fans of the high fantasy series were at least fascinated enough to sit down and watch the first episode of the series.
The first episode of the prequel series debuted on Sunday night to 9.986 million people across linear and HBO Max platforms, according to data released on Monday by Warner Bros. Discovery. According to the production firm, this new original series’ audience is the biggest in HBO’s history.
According to the firm, 20% to 40% of an HBO series’ overall audience often tunes in on Sunday nights.
The fact that so many ‘Game of Thrones’ fans joined us in Westeros last night was great, according to Casey Bloys, chief content officer for HBO and HBO Max.
About 200 years before the events depicted in “Game of Thrones,” “House of the Dragon” depicts the tale of the Targaryen civil war. It is based on the book “Fire and Blood” by George R.R. Martin. This book in Martin’s “Song of Ice and Fire” series has an omniscient narrator who records the history based on gathered reports of events, in contrast to Martin’s previous books in the series. There are several accounts of the events, and these stories occasionally conflict with one another.
The launch of “House of the Dragon” on HBO and HBO Max came with high stakes as newly appointed CEO David Zaslav searches for fat to cut. At the freshly combined firm, cost-cutting tactics like hiring cuts and removing HBO Max programming have become standard practise.
Warner Bros. Discovery is aiming to unify its streaming services, which will cost money and take time as it tries to save costs.
Only the second instalment in the Game of Thrones franchise, “House of the Dragon,” has much to establish and uphold. Many “Game of Thrones” fans were dissatisfied with the final season because the showrunners went beyond the events in the material written by author George R.R.
As of Monday afternoon, “House of the Dragon” had 413 reviews and an 83% “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. As a point of reference, the 2011 premiere of “Game of Thrones” had a 90% “Fresh” rating. In actuality, every season—aside from the last—had a rating of at least 90%. Eighth season ratings were 55%.
Analysts, investors, and most crucially, officials at Warner Bros. Discovery, will be closely monitoring “House of the Dragon’s” audience figures in the coming weeks to see if it can maintain momentum over the 10-episode season.
