'House of the Dragon' is HBO's top series premiere ever
NEW YORK (AP) - Nearly 10 million people saw the premiere of 'œHouse of the Dragon'ť on Sunday night, making the 'œGame of Thrones'ť spinoff HBO's most-watched series premiere in the network's history.
HBO aired the episode four times on premiere night and it was also streamed on HBO Max. The viewership number is only going to increase in the coming weeks.
For instance, the 'œGame of Throne'ť series finale in May 2019 was seen on its first night by 19.8 million, more than any other series episode on HBO, the Nielsen company said. HBO estimates that some 46 million people in total have seen it, when delayed viewing is taken into account.
Anticipation for 'œHouse of the Dragon'ť was evident in how many people were streaming old 'œGame of Thrones'ť episodes on HBO Max, which the network fed by offering crisper picture quality. The weekly average of streams in August is nearly 90% above June, the network said.
'œThe '~Game of Thrones' prequel recaptured the fire of HBO's original masterpiece in a big way,'ť said Ashwin Navin, co-founder and CEO of the research firm Samba TV. That company estimated that the HBO series more than doubled the first-day viewership for Netflix's new season of 'œStranger Things'ť this summer.
The challenge - and opportunity - for HBO lies in trying to expand 'œHouse of the Dragon'ť beyond the built-in fan base, Navin said.
CBS was the most popular broadcast network in prime time last week, averaging 2.8 million viewers. NBC had 2.7 million, ABC had 2.4 million, Fox had 1.9 million, Ion Television had 1.04 million, Univision had 1.01 million and Telemundo had 810,000.
Fox News Channel led the cable networks with a prime-time average of 2.31 million. MSNBC had 1.32 million, ESPN had 896,000, Hallmark had 870,000 and HGTV had 866,000.
ABC's 'œWorld News Tonight'ť won the evening news ratings race, averaging 7.2 million viewers last week. NBC's 'œNightly News'ť had 6.1 million and the 'œCBS Evening News'ť had 4.2 million.
For the week of Aug. 15-22, the 20 most popular prime-time programs, their networks and viewerships:
1. 'œAmerica's Got Talent'ť (Tuesday), NBC, 6.44 million.
2. 'œAmerica's Got Talent'ť (Wednesday), NBC, 5.64 million.
3. 'œ60 Minutes,'ť CBS, 5.44 million.
4. 'œCelebrity Family Feud,'ť ABC, 4.54 million.
5. 'œPassword'ť (Wednesday), NBC, 4.36 million.
6. 'œThe $100,000 Pyramid,'ť ABC, 4.1 million.
7. 'œBig Brother'ť (Wednesday), CBS, 4.06 million.
8. 'œAmerica's Funniest Home Videos,'ť ABC, 3.98 million.
9. 'œPassword'ť (Tuesday), NBC, 3.97 million.
10. 'œBig Brother'ť (Sunday), CBS, 3.95 million.
11. 'œFBI,'ť CBS, 3.57 million.
12. 'œTucker Carlson Tonight'ť (Monday), Fox News, 3.432 million.
13. 'œPress Your Luck,'ť ABC, 3.425 million.
14. 'œBig Brother'ť (Thursday), CBS, 3.42 million.
15. 'œTucker Carlson Tonight'ť (Wednesday), Fox News, 3.38 million.
16. 'œThe Bachelorette,'ť ABC, 3.294 million.
17. 'œTucker Carlson Tonight" (Tuesday), Fox News, 3.294 million.
18. 'œYoung Sheldon,'ť CBS, 3.258 million.
19. 'œCelebrity Wheel of Fortune,'ť ABC, 3.258 million.
20. 'œFBI International," CBS, 3.245 million.