Game of Thrones series finale shatters records for Foxtel
The final episode of season eight of Game of Thrones made ratings history yesterday as a massive audience in Australia joined the rest of the world to watch the series finale in a global television simulcast, which brought to a close the most watched TV drama of all time.
The final episode, dubbed ‘The Iron Throne’, streamed exclusively on Foxtel Now and aired on FOX SHOWCASE yesterday, marking the conclusion of an incredible eight season Game of Thrones journey that has captivated audiences around the world for nearly a decade.
The final episode delivered an overnight linear audience across all airings of 1.076 million viewers, the largest overnight audience in subscription TV history. This also marks an increase of 21 percent on the season seven finale in 2017 and a 6 percent increase on the previous record holder, season 8 episode 3, ‘The Long Night’, which held the record of 1.011 million. Foxtel expects the finale episode to continue breaking records once the consolidated data becomes available. The Game of Thrones season 8 audience has been the most engaged ever, with the show pulling in a cumulative linear average audience of 1.413 million viewers per episode across episodes 1-4.
Game of Thrones’ series finale also brought a total premiere day audience of 471,000 viewers who streamed it live or On Demand across Foxtel Now and Foxtel GO. The On Demand VPM of 432,000 is the largest single day On Demand VPM rating in Australian TV history.
Over the past eight seasons, Game of Thrones has become a cultural phenomenon, attracting record viewers and critical acclaim worldwide.The show also stands as the most Emmy Award-winning primetime scripted series ever, with a record 47 awards.
The Game of Thrones finale has set the stage for an incredible season of drama set to continue on Foxtel, which has revealed a huge slate of new and returning programs from Australia and around the world including the FX biographical series Fosse/Verdon; the gritty, action-packed crime drama Warrior; HBO’s star-powered teen drama Euphoria; anthology series The Act; and the latest Foxtel Original drama, Lambs of God.
Returning favourites streaming soon include the highly anticipated second seasons of Big Little LiesandRyan Murphy’s ground-breaking drama Pose; and an explosive seventh season of the critically-acclaimed fan favourite, Wentworth, which returns May 28.
About Foxtel
Foxtel is one of Australia’s most innovative and dynamic media companies and home to award winning local drama plus the widest choice in live sport, hit international TV and movies and a host of complete TV seasons to stream On Demand. Foxtel believes in the importance of telling Australian stories, and its ongoing commitment to creating the best in Australian programming has garnered numerous industry awards for its Foxtel Original productions. Foxtel has helped put Australian talent on the world stage with highly acclaimed international exports and it proudly invests in the people who help tell those stories by employing thousands of Australians directly and indirectly across Australia’s creative industry. It has also pioneered advancements in entertainment technology with Australia’s first live 4K channel; the iQ4 set top box; the Foxtel GO app for mobile devices; streaming service, Foxtel Now and Foxtel broadband, home phone and entertainment bundles. Foxtel is owned by News Corporation (65%) and Telstra Corporation Limited ACN 051 775 556 (35%).
