Winter has arrived in Westeros, but HBO remains on a hot streak.
The Season 7 finale of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” hauled in 12.1 million total viewers on TV, with millions more on streams. Adding in HBO Go and Now, Sunday’s tally comes out to a whopping 16.5 million overall audience members.
The 12.1 million number, which is what Nielsen measures, is 13 percent better than the previous record of 10.7 million total viewers. That also-gaudy figure happened two weeks ago.
It is also a giant 36 percent above last year’s finale, which drew 8.9 million total television viewers. This year’s premiere landed 10.1 million viewers, which means Season 7 ended 19 percent higher than it began.
Huge numbers for sure, but that doesn’t make “The Dragon and the Wolf” the most beloved “Game of Thrones” episode to-date. As a matter of fact, it’s currently the poorest reviewed “GoT” season finale so far, according to RottenTomatoes. Not that HBO is complaining.