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Despite a recent leak of the first four episodes of Game Of Thrones, just before the Season 5 premiere this past weekend, the show has never performed better; as HBO announced the Game Of Thrones Season 5 premiere brought in 7.99 million viewers – the highest ratings of any season opener to date.
While the leak will have undoubtedly damaged the ratings somewhat (potentially ongoing for the next month, as four week’s worth of episodes found their way online), the figure would’ve been just as impressive without it; proving that Game Of Thrones is continuing to grow in terms of both loyal fanbase and newcomers.
While less viewers tuned in for the Season 5 opener than the Season 4 finale (which, over two airings the same night, drew in 9.3 million viewers), the 7.99 million is still a huge leap up from the 6.6 million who watched the Season 4 premiere (a difference of 1.33 million – or a 20% increase overall).
HBO are currently attempting to track down the source of the leak (which originated from a review copy sent to a trade organisation) and ensure it doesn’t happen in future, releasing the following statement at the weekend:
“Sadly, it seems the leaked four episodes of the upcoming season of Game of Thrones originated from within a group approved by HBO to receive them. We’re actively assessing how this breach occurred.”
Episode 2, from Game Of Thrones Season 5 will air on Sunday night at 9pm in the US on HBO, at at the same time (2am Monday) on Sky Atlantic in the UK – marking the first episode in an ongoing simulcast (Sky Atlantic will also stick to the Monday night 9pm slot) – and you can see a trailer for Season 5 Episode 2 below.
Matt Wheeldon – @TheMattWheeldon.
Source: Deadline.
