The opening episode of HBO’s critically acclaimed prequel to Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, has now been watched 4.08 million times on Sky in the UK.
It makes the fantasy drama, based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, the biggest US drama launch ever on Sky and the biggest ever series premiere on Sky Atlantic in the channel’s 11-year history.
Sky Atlantic has an output deal with HBO that runs until 2025, giving it first run access on its platforms.
The latest House of the Dragon UK viewing figure of 4.08m is comprised of all viewing to date to the opening episode including those tuning into original linear premiere, those who have chosen to catch up on demand on Sky or streaming service NOW since its original air date, and customers catching up on recordings.
The 7-day cumulative figure for episode 1 (3.78 million) is also bigger than the launch of its predecessor Game of Thrones in 2011.
MD of Content at Sky, Zai Bennett said: “Momentum around House of the Dragon just continues to build, as more and more people spread the word about its ever-current narrative of political power play married with visuals of epic scale and imagination. And thanks to Sky making the first episode freely available to watch via YouTube, more people than ever before will be able to sample the world-class world of Westeros.”
House of the Dragon is also one of the biggest launches across Sky’s social channels with 75 million impressions and 38 million videos views of content to date.