HOUSE OF THE DRAGON concluded its first season with 9.3 million viewers Sunday night across all platforms, based on a combination of Nielsen and first party data, despite heavy hitting competition from Sunday Night Football and the final game of the Major League Baseball ALCS between the NY Yankees and Houston Astros. That marks the biggest finale night for an HBO series since the conclusion of GAME OF THRONES in May 2019.
“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, HBO and HBO Max. “Congrats to George, Ryan, Miguel and the whole House of the Dragon team on an incredible first season.”
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON debuted on Sunday, August 21, to the largest audience for any new original series in the history of HBO and the best series launch on HBO Max across the U.S., Latin America, and Europe. All episodes of the series are now averaging 29 million viewers in the U.S., more than tripling their average debut night audience with strong catch-up viewing.
For comparison, this is tracking closely behind the average audience for Season 7 of GAME OF THRONES, which averaged 32.8M viewers per episode in the U.S.
Additionally, fans have flocked to social media to express their fandom, with HOUSE OF THE DRAGON ranking as the #1 most social series across all TV and streaming since premiere, based on Talkwater’s total interactions rankings. The series trended #1 on Twitter for 10 consecutive hours in the U.S. Sunday night, and global social conversation volume was up more than 30% vs. the series premiere in August.
GAME OF THRONES also continued to see elevated viewership as new episodes of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON debuted. The series saw month over month gains in viewership this summer leading up to the premiere of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, culminating in its all-time highest weekly audience on HBO Max following the HOUSE OF THE DRAGON premiere.
Outside of the U.S., 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. (The series streams on HBO Max in 39 countries in Latin America, 21 countries across Europe and on HBO GO in SEA, HK and TW.)
Fans can also listen to THE OFFICIAL GAME OF THRONES PODCAST: HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, the go-to audio destination to provide in-depth analysis and exclusive interviews unpacking each episode with hosts Jason Concepcion (X-RAY VISION) and Greta Johnsen (NERDETTE). Following the HOUSE OF THE DRAGON finale, Jason and Greta will continue to explore all aspects of the GAME OF THRONES fandom.
Additionally, HOUSE OF THE DRAGON: DRACARYS, the augmented reality app that launched over the summer, is now available in 99 countries. The app responded in real time to plot points throughout the first season, with new dragons from the series making special appearances. The final dragon of the season will make an appearance this week. Although the season has ended, the experience has not. Users can continue their journey to train and grow their dragons as they await season two.
