The fantasy epic is up 50% from last year’s start, with streaming counted
After a longer-than-usual break, Game of Thrones racked up record ratings for its seventh-season return.
HBO, citing preliminary Nielsen figures, says 16.1 million viewers watched Sunday’s opener, counting live and DVR-delayed viewing and streaming on HBO Go and HBO Now. That’s up 50% from 10.7 million last year and, HBO says, sets a record for most-watched premiere night for any series in the network’s history.
TV-only viewership stood at 10.1 million viewers, also a record, up from 7.9 million for Season 6’s start in April 2016. That bested the previous high, set by the Season 6 finale (8.9 million) in June 2016.
HBO says Sunday night also marked a record in “concurrent” streams on HBO Go — which allows on-the-go viewing for HBO cable and satellite subscribers — and HBO Now, aimed at streaming-only customers.
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