House of the Dragon Season 2 premiere viewership drops 50% compared to Season 1

House of the Dragon enjoys popularity for various reasons, notably as a sequel to HBO’s highly successful Game of Thrones. This not only guaranteed an existing audience eager for the show but also set a high bar of expectations for it to meet. And it seems like the expectations are finally catching up with the viewership, which has declined significantly.

House of the Dragon Season 2 premiere attracted only half of Season 1’s crowd

Interest in HBO/Max’s original series “House of the Dragon” seems to be diminishing with its second season. Adapted from George R. R. Martin’s “Fire & Blood,” the premiere of Season 2 was viewed by 1.3 million U.S. households on HBO/Max during its first day on June 16, as reported by Samba TV, which measures viewership using smart-TV data and ranks streaming programs by their reach in U.S. households.

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In comparison, House of the Dragon Season 1 was watched by 2.3 million households during the first-day window on Aug. 21, 2022.

Credits: Max

House of the Dragon Season 1 remains HBO’s one of the most successful premieres yet

Last year, HBO reported that nearly 10 million people watched the premiere of House of the Dragon through its official channels. This number is likely much higher considering the episode was leaked a day before its official airing. Tracking the exact number of people who pirated the episode is impossible, but it’s certainly not a small figure.

For comparison, this viewership is more than double the 4.2 million viewers that the Game of Thrones premiere attracted. However, it’s worth noting that HBO’s accessibility was significantly more restricted in 2011 when Game of Thrones first premiered. Even the much-criticized finale of the show captivated around 18 million viewers.

Read Next: Finally? The Winds of Winter could release right after the end of House of the Dragon Season 2

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