‘House of the Dragon’ Finale Draws HBO’s Biggest Audience Since ‘Game of Thrones’
HBO‘s House of the Dragon just wrapped its first season, with 9.3 million viewers tuning into the finale on Sunday, October 23. It was the biggest finale night for the premium network since Game of Thrones‘ last episode. The numbers come from a combination of Nielsen and first-party data, and according to that data, viewership beat out Sunday Night Football and the final game of the Major League Baseball ALCS between the New York Yankees and Houston Astros.
Outside of the United States, House of the Dragon has surpassed Game of Thrones Season 8, “making it the most viewed HBO title ever in Latin America, Europe, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan on an HBO streaming service,” according to HBO.
“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,” said Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max in a statement. “Congrats to George, Ryan, Miguel, and the whole House of the Dragon team on an incredible first season.”
It was previously reported that the prequel, which premiered on Sunday, August 21, debuted to the largest audience for any original series in HBO history and also had the best series launch across the U.S., Latin America, and Europe on its HBO Max streaming service. According to the network, every episode this season now averages 29 million viewers in the U.S., surpassing their average debut night audience with strong catch-up viewing.
For comparison, this is tracking closely behind the average audience for Game of Thrones Season 7 — 32.8 million viewers per episode in the U.S. This is especially impressive considering the finale leaked ahead of its linear airing earlier in the week.
Although the season has ended, a second season has already been picked up and is scheduled to start filming in early 2023.
