Game of Thrones goes beyond the wall with 17.4 million viewership record

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

As was to be expected, a lot of people tuned in for the Season 8 premiere of HBO's GAME OF THRONES. I should know, I was one of 'em. In fact, I even subscribed to the network's Crave-based add-on so that my wife and I could be creeped out by Bran Stark in real-time. While the episode was considerably light on blood and gore, it did much to cover plenty of ground, updating viewers on where many of the fantasy saga's remaining players are at. It was a momentous night for the George R.R. Martin series, as evidenced by the latest viewership figures released by HBO.

According to the cable network's research, the Season 8 premiere drew 17.4 million viewers across all platforms (HBO proper, HBOGO and HBO NOW). It's also worth noting that this number only reflects those who watched on Sunday night. In other words, you can bet all the wine in Westeros that this number will increase once delayed viewing stats are calculated.

To put things into perspective, the Season 7 premiere averaged 16.1 million total viewers, this includes the 10.1 million who watched via HBO's proper channel as well as the DVR and streaming set ups. The Season 8 premiere number also topped the show's Season 7 finale, which had captured the attention of 12.1 million viewers. It's also worth noting that last night's Season 8 debut garnered the most tweets related to a GAME OF THRONES event with more than 5 million posts hitting the social network on Sunday evening. Yeah, people were not shy about posting their thoughts, or spoilers for that matter. I personally didn't look at my Twitter feed once during the premiere. However, after the episode had drawn to an intense close, I perused the platform and was a little taken aback by how quickly and brazen people were being about posting plot specifics and pivotal screenshots. I suppose that since it's the final season all gloves are off? Tweeters beware! Spoilers are coming!

Before we get out of here to go score some more of that limited edition Mountain Dew, why don't we take a look at the numbers related to the GAME OF THRONES premieres of yesteryear?

-Season 6: 25.7 million

-Season 5: 20.2 million

-Season 4: 19.1 million

-Season 3: 14.4 million

-Season 2: 11.6 million

-Season 1: 9.3 million

How are you coping with this being the final season of GAME OF THRONES? Who do you think will sit atop the Iron Throne once all is said and done? Do you think all of the Stark children will survive the ordeal? Will Arya finally kill The Hound? Will Bran suddenly rise from his wheelchair to stick his boot up Jamie's arse? How do you think you would fair if the Mother of Dragons ordered you to glide through the air atop one of her toothy children? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.