Sunday night’s episode of Game of Thrones entitled "First of His Name," now ranks first as the most-watched installment in the show’s history.
The May 4 premiere became the fantasy series’ first to cross the 7 million-watcher plateau, averaging 7.2 million viewers in its 9 p.m. window, according to Nielsen, and tacked on another 1.4 million with its encore. The debut delivery surpassed the 6.9 million who tuned in for the fourth season’s fourth episode on April 27.
Season-to-date, GOT has grown its average gross audience per episode to 17.8 million viewers, when all airings on various platforms are calculated. That’s 24% amelioration compared to the 14.4 million viewers of last season, and makes it the premium network’s biggest ever show, surpassing The Sopranos, which lorded during an era when there weren't as many alternate devices and delayed viewing wasn’t as prevalent.
For its part, Silicon Valley averaged 1.8 million viewers, marking its best performance since its debut. Combined with its second replay, the show delivered 2.1 million viewers for the night. Season-to-date, the series has an average gross audience of 5.4 million viewers.
Julia Louis-Dreyfuss-starrer Veep netted a season-high 1 million viewers at 10:30 p.m. Adding in its second replay, the series gathered 1.4 million viewers. Season-to-date, Veep has an average gross audience per episode of 4.5 million viewers, up 17% when compared to last season’s 3.9 million viewers, to make it the comedy's most-watched season.
The second installment of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver received encouraging news, registering an 8% gain to 1.2 million watchers for its 11 p.m. debut, and 1.5 million for the night.
