Game of Throne’s spinoff prequel, House of the Dragon, delivered the highest viewership for any 2022 cable or streaming premiere.
After a historic build-up, the Game of Thrones’s eighth and final season left a bitter taste in fans’ mouths. House of Dragon marks a return to form for the polarizing franchise.
The show takes place 172 years before Daenerys Targaryen and the original series.
We reviewed the prequel’s first episode and concluded, “House of the Dragon is visually and emotionally rich from the very beginning, recapturing the thought-lost magic of Game of Thrones in the first step of a long dance.”
House of the Dragon not only recaptured Game of Thrones’ magic but also massively boosts HBO Max. Amid budget cuts, the streaming service recently cut 200 episodes of Sesame Street, canceled Batgirl, and removed 20 original shows.
According to Samba TV data, episode 1 drew in 2.6 million households.
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House of the Dragon shatters 2022 premiere record
2022 has been a stacked year for streaming and cable television. According to Forbes, Stranger Things Season 4 premiere drew 1.2 million households. Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi garnered 2.14 million.
HBO's @HouseofDragon delivered 2.6 million U.S. households tuning into the premiere episode in its initial six hours on both traditional linear TV and streaming. The @GameOfThrones spinoff generated the highest viewership for any premium cable or streaming premiere in 2022. pic.twitter.com/ewhwJ36es8
— Samba TV (@samba_tv) August 22, 2022
Episode one aired on August 21, from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. 2.6 million households tuned in.
House of the Dragon features 10 episodes airing every Sunday at 9 p.m. EST. The Game of Thrones spinoff established unprecedented viewership numbers.
Game of Thrones premiere on April 17, 2011, drew 2.22 million viewers. GOT peaked further down the line, averaging 9.3 million throughout its run.
The prequel series has nearly impossible shoes to fill, but it’s off to an impressive start.