- HBO’s “Game of Thrones” aired its final episode on Sunday.
- The series broke a record set by “The Sopranos” for the most-watched telecast in HBO’s history.
- Overall, 19.3 million viewers watched across HBO’s TV and digital platform, beating the series’ previous best.
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Critics may have been disappointed in the way things wrapped up in Westeros on Sunday, but a record-setting number of viewers still tuned in to watch “Game of Thrones” come to its divisive end.
An estimated 13.6 million viewers watched the 9 p.m. airing of the final episode of “Game of Thrones,” according to Nielsen data released by HBO. It was the most-watched single telecast in HBO’s history, edging out the network’s original flagship drama “The Sopranos.” The fourth season premiere of the mobster series in 2002 set a record with 13.4 million viewers.
But that doesn’t take into account the rise in streaming viewing that has happened in between 2002 and now.
Overall, 19.3 million viewers watched the “Game of Thrones” finale across HBO’s platforms, including its TV channels, its HBO Go service for pay-TV customers, and its HBO Now subscription service. The episode bested the previous week’s series high of 18.4 million viewers.
And these are just the viewers HBO counted. The figures don't include viewers who may have watched the episode through less-than-legal means, such as pirated streams and downloads.
The season premiere of the final season of "Game of Thrones" was pirated 54 million times globally in its first 24 hours in April, mostly in places like India and China, Business Insider previously reported, citing data from Muso, a company that tracks digital piracy analytics.
Given the enormous live viewership of the "Game of Thrones" finale, the series may have set more than one record on Sunday.
