NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Nearly 10 million people saw the premiere of 鈥淗ouse of the Dragon鈥� on Sunday night, making the 鈥淕ame of Thrones鈥� 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 鈥淕ame of Throne鈥� 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 鈥淗ouse of the Dragon鈥� was evident in how many people were streaming old 鈥淕ame of Thrones鈥� 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.
鈥淭he 鈥楪ame of Thrones鈥� prequel recaptured the fire of HBO's original masterpiece in a big way,鈥� 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 鈥淪tranger Things鈥� this summer.
The challenge 鈥� and opportunity 鈥� for HBO lies in trying to expand 鈥淗ouse of the Dragon鈥� 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 鈥淲orld News Tonight鈥� won the evening news ratings race, averaging 7.2 million viewers last week. NBC's 鈥淣ightly News鈥� had 6.1 million and the 鈥淐BS Evening News鈥� had 4.2 million.
For the week of Aug. 15-22, the 20 most popular prime-time programs, their networks and viewerships:
1. 鈥淎merica's Got Talent鈥� (Tuesday), NBC, 6.44 million.
2. 鈥淎merica's Got Talent鈥� (Wednesday), NBC, 5.64 million.
3. 鈥�60 Minutes,鈥� CBS, 5.44 million.
4. 鈥淐elebrity Family Feud,鈥� ABC, 4.54 million.
5. 鈥淧assword鈥� (Wednesday), NBC, 4.36 million.
6. 鈥淭he $100,000 Pyramid,鈥� ABC, 4.1 million.
7. 鈥淏ig Brother鈥� (Wednesday), CBS, 4.06 million.
8. 鈥淎merica's Funniest Home Videos,鈥� ABC, 3.98 million.
9. 鈥淧assword鈥� (Tuesday), NBC, 3.97 million.
10. 鈥淏ig Brother鈥� (Sunday), CBS, 3.95 million.
11. 鈥淔BI,鈥� CBS, 3.57 million.
12. 鈥淭ucker Carlson Tonight鈥� (Monday), Fox News, 3.432 million.
13. 鈥淧ress Your Luck,鈥� ABC, 3.425 million.
14. 鈥淏ig Brother鈥� (Thursday), CBS, 3.42 million.
15. 鈥淭ucker Carlson Tonight鈥� (Wednesday), Fox News, 3.38 million.
16. 鈥淭he Bachelorette,鈥� ABC, 3.294 million.
17. 鈥淭ucker Carlson Tonight" (Tuesday), Fox News, 3.294 million.
18. 鈥淵oung Sheldon,鈥� CBS, 3.258 million.
19. 鈥淐elebrity Wheel of Fortune,鈥� ABC, 3.258 million.
20. 鈥淔BI International," CBS, 3.245 million.
David Bauder, The Associated Press
