Making “Game of Thrones” free to stream was a win for HBO’s streaming services, according to data from Amobee Brand Intelligence, a marketing technology company that analyzes online reactions.
Over the weekend, HBO gave pay-TV customers and anyone with an Internet connection a free pass to its programming, scheduling the Friday-through-Monday freebie concurrent with the season premieres of “Game of Thrones,” “Silicon Valley” and “Veep,” as well as Beyonce’s musical special event “Lemonade.”
On Sunday, HBO Go had 10.9 times as much digital content engagement (social posts, webpage comments) when “Game of Thrones” season six debuted, compared with the previous three months. HBO Go is the app that lets users already subscribed to HBO stream its content online.
Amobee analyzes ways people are seeing, reading, interacting and engaging online across more than 600,000 sites on mobile, video, web and social.
HBO Now, the network’s stand-alone subscription streaming app, also got a boost. It saw 10.6 times more digital content engagement, according to Amobee.
That means on Sunday, there was 10 times the normal level of digital interest in watching HBO on second screens and in buying it as an subscription service.