'Game of Thrones' and Other HBO Series Up 50% in Viewership Amid COVID-19

Although Game of Thrones concluded its final season last May, it seems many fans are taking advantage of being in quarantine by rewatching the show (or perhaps watching it for the first time). How do we know, you ask? In recent weeks, the entertainment news website Medium has been getting an inundation of press inquiries, asking about "how social distancing in the wake of COVID-19 is affecting usage of HBO’s digital platforms." To answer that question, the WarnerMedia Entertainment & Direct-to-Consumer Research Team took a look at a few pieces of data.

The team has been analyzing information from both HBO NOW usage, along with linear viewing trends across cable channels like TNT, TBS, and TruTV. The inquiry came back with a treasure trove of information about people's viewing habits during the coronavirus pandemic and Cheryl Idell, the Chief Research Officer for WarnerMedia Entertainment, shared it with the public for a report published on March 24.

Apparently, U.S. TV viewing grew almost 20% across the industry in one week compared to the prior four weeks. This makes sense, since so many people are working from home. HBO is experiencing traffic to its different platforms, with usage levels for HBO NOW the highest on the platform since the summer. Not only has Euphoria's audience doubled over its four-week average, but other HBO series such as Chernobyl, Big Little Lies, His Dark Materials, and (you guessed it) Game of Thrones are experiencing "gains in excess of 50%"! Even older shows like Sex and the City and The Sopranos are having great strides in viewership, nearly doubling their audiences in recent weeks.

It seems people are using their downtime to rewatch some of their favorites for comfort, or are trying shows for the first time. Hopefully that means everyone is staying safe at home, snuggled in front of the television!