HBO’s biggest TV series boast impressive numbers by combining broadcast and Max figures. We’ve compared House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones’ viewership to see which show wins this battle.
While the future of streaming services looks unstable, a digital war is still being fought. House of the Dragon, which emerged from the fiery ashes of the Game of Thrones finale in true Targaryen fashion, is on the front lines.
House of the Dragon Season 2 was 2024’s small screen headliner, and although it might not have ticked everyone’s boxes, it certainly leaves the door open for Season 3 now that it’s over.
Holding a candle to Game of Thrones at its peak is harder than dragon-rearing, though; modern doesn’t always equal more. So, here’s how the two shows compare in the number of people watching them.
Peak viewership figures compared
Game of Thrones holds the record for peak viewership over House of the Dragon.
- House of the Dragon’s most-watched episode: Season 1 Episode 2 (10.2 million)
- Game of Thrones’ most-watched episode: Season 8 Episode 6 (19.3 million)
House of the Dragon scored 9.9 million viewers with Episode 1 before peaking at 10.2 million with Episode 2.
The already-established audience ahead of House of the Dragon’s premiere accounted for its impressive debut. Still, Game of Thrones’ series finale remains the highest-rated episode in HBO history.
In terms of how many seasons House of the Dragons will have, the spin-off is set to be half as long as Game of Thrones. That means it’s unlikely to surpass the soaring heights the main series eventually reached.
House of the Dragon Season 1 viewership figures explained
The first episode of House of the Dragon Season 1 was watched by 9.99 million people across linear broadcasting and Max.
House of the Dragon Season 1 viewership:
- Season 1 Episode 1: 9.9 million viewers
- Season 1 Episode 2: 10.2 million viewers
- Season 1 Episode 10: 9.3 million viewers
One of the reasons streaming is a tricky business is that companies can cherry-pick what data they release. Unfortunately, in this case, we don’t have the full picture.
Warner Bros. Discovery declined to share figures for episodes 3-9. However, it confirmed to Variety that total viewership (including cable and streaming) rose by 5% with Episode 4, by 3% with Episode 5, and by 3% with Episode 6.
However, it’s fair to say House of the Dragon was an impressive beast in ratings, beating friendly-fire competition such as The Last of Us.
House of the Dragon Episode 10, ‘The Black Queen’, is HBO’s most-watched finale since Game of Thrones concluded in 2019.
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House of the Dragon Season 2 viewership figures explained
The House of the Dragon Season 2 premiere brought in fewer viewers than Season 1, at 7.8 million.
That’s a 22% drop in viewership from Season 1’s premiere. Part of this has to do with linear viewing, with around 1 million fewer people watching the episode on HBO.
On the streaming front, Season 2 Episode 1 was Max’s biggest streaming day ever, according to Warner Bros. Discovery.
House of the Dragon Season 2 viewership:
- Season 2 Episode 1: 7.8 million viewers
- Season 2 Episode 4: 8.1 million viewers
- Season 2 Episode 8: 8.9 million viewers
The Season 2 finale was far and away the most-watched episode of the bunch. That’s 14% more than the season premiere.
According to HBO, Season 2 averaged 25 million viewers per episode. For comparison, Season 1 averaged 29 million, so that figure has gone down slightly.
Game of Thrones viewership figures explained
The Game of Thrones finale was HBO’s most-watched episode ever, with 19.3 million total viewers.
Game of Thrones average viewers by season:
- Game of Thrones Season 1: 9.3 million
- Game of Thrones Season 2: 11.6 million
- Game of Thrones Season 3: 14.4 million
- Game of Thrones Season 4: 19.1 million
- Game of Thrones Season 5: 20.2 million
- Game of Thrones Season 6: 25.7 million
- Game of Thrones Season 7: 32.8 million
- Game of Thrones Season 8: 46 million
Thrones was a behemoth for HBO, pulling in an average of 46 million viewers across a controversial Season 8. To date, it’s HBO’s best TV series where ratings are concerned.
Those figures were shared with Variety and combined viewership across linear, on-demand, the out-of-service HBO Go/HBO Now, and other streaming platforms. HBO counted its programming until 90 days post-premiere across all platforms.
In conclusion, the first Game of Thrones spin-off is a ratings giant, but it can’t beat the original in a jousting match.
Prepare for HOTD with our guides to the House of the Dragon Episode 10 ending explained, the Seven Kingdoms, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, or Blood and Cheese. We’ve also got a breakdown of all the House of the Dragon filming locations.
For more, check out our House of the Dragon Season 2 review. You can also find out what happened with our Season 2 ending explained, and take a look at the 5 shows just like House of the Dragon to watch while we wait for Season 3.
