‘House Of The Dragon’ Premiere Ratings: How Many People Watched?

Having the name recognition of one of the most popular series of all time behind you has its benefits.

House of the Dragon bowed to impressive numbers Sunday night, becoming the year’s most-watched premiere across all premium cable and streaming platforms, the latter perhaps the most impressive number given the recent news that streaming viewership outstripped cable for the first time ever in July.

Dragon averaged 2.6 million U.S. households, according to Samba TV, a technology company that provides real-time audience analytics, including viewers who watched the show from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. on both traditional linear TV viewing and streaming, including HBO Max.

How does that stack up to other high-profile programs premiering this year? For comparison, Netflix’s Stranger Things, which bowed season four several months ago, drew 1.2 million households streaming on day one. And Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi averaged 2.14 million for its much-anticipated series bow in May.

“The next challenge, and the real opportunity for HBO in the coming weeks, is to expand viewership beyond the passionate built-in fan base,” says Ashwin Navin, co-founder & CEO of Samba TV. “Just as Stranger Things’ most recent season four, volume two drop surpassed its volume one audience, HBO must look to innovative marketing that drives incremental audience growth to break through today’s saturated content marketplace.”

So who’s watching Dragon? Samba TV found that the program overindexed among higher-income households, with those making $125,000-$150,000 23% more likely to watch and those making over $200,000 21% more likely to watch.

It’s also popular with Gen Z viewers (adults 20-24) and millennials (25-34), who are slightly more likely to watch than other age groups.

The huge Dragon bow comes amid a changing and, as Navin notes, content-saturated marketplace. With more and more streaming services joining the fray, the TV landscape has transformed over the past three years. It’s more difficult to capture attention, even with proven brands such as GoT or Star Wars, against the backdrop of constant new content premieres.

That has led to shifts in subscriptions and fiercer competition. All the streamers are searching for ways to stand out amid the fight for eyeballs. And with HBO Max preparing to combine with Discovery+, big numbers from a franchise become even more critical as HBO tries to make its value clear to its new owners at Discovery.