Game of Thrones season 8 premiere ratings: How high will they go?

Author

Michael Beach
April 15, 2019

Tonight marks the beginning of the end for one of TV’s classic programs. One of the most remarkable feats has been how the show has gained viewers every season.

Game of Thrones viewership by season (% growth) according to The Hollywood Reporter:
1) Season 1–9.3M
2) Season 2–11.6M (↑ 25%)
3) Season 3–14.4M (↑ 24%)
4) Season 4–19.1M (↑ 33%)
5) Season 5–20.2M (↑ 6%)
6) Season 6–25.7M (↑ 27%)
7) Season 7–32.8M (↑ 28%)

32.8M viewers are even more impressive when you consider that ≈ 45% of U.S. TV households subscribe to HBO!

HBO projects that 1B+ people in 120+ countries will watch Game of Thrones this season surpassing The Sopranos as their most watched show ever.

Game of Thrones share of viewership from on-demand:
1) Season 1–73%
2) Season 2–67%
3) Season 3–67%
4) Season 4–64%
5) Season 5–66%
6) Season 6–70%
7) Season 7–69%

Game of Thrones initial airing for Season 7 finale (% of total):
1) Television — 12.1M (73%)
2) Streaming — 4.4M (27%)

Total Viewers:
1) Super Bowl (2019): 101M (6X)
2) Game of Thrones (2017 finale): 17M

Television:
1) Super Bowl (2019): 98M (8X)
2) Game of Thrones (2017 finale): 12M

Streaming (% of total):
1) Super Bowl (2019): 2.5M (2%)
2) Game of Thrones (2017 finale): 4.4M (27%)

Cost per episode by show according to Variety:
1) Game of Thrones (HBO) — $15M
2) The Crown (Netflix) — $10M
3) Jack Ryan (Amazon) — $8M
4) American Gods (Starz) — $8M
5) Stranger Things (Netflix) — $6M
6) American Crime Story (FX) — $6M
7) The Tick (Amazon) — $5M
8) Will (TNT) — $5M
9) Carpool Karaoke (Apple) — $2M

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