For HBO’s “Game Of Thrones,” the streak of year-to-year premiere increases finally ended. On a live+same-day basis, Sunday’s sixth season premiere narrowly trailed the fifth season opener in adults 18-49 and total viewership.
What did not end, however, was the show’s reign of Sunday night dominance in the adults 18-49 demographic.
According to national data posted by Showbuzz, Sunday’s “GoT” drew a 4.0 adults 18-49 rating and 7.94 million total viewers. While above the typical season five levels, the numbers trail the 4.2 rating and 8.00 million viewer mark drawn by the April 12, 2015 fifth season premiere.
“Game Of Thrones” still obliterated its competition in adults 18-49. The closest rival in the demo was AMC’s “Fear The Walking Dead,” which drew a 2.1. It was also cable’s most watched Sunday program.
— As it did last year, Sunday’s “Game Of Thrones” premiere led into the “Silicon Valley” season opener. This year’s premiere drew a 1.0 rating and 1.86 million total viewers, compared to a 1.2 with 2.13 million last year.
“Silicon Valley” led into “Veep” (0.5, 1.10 million vs. 0.6, 1.05 million last year), which led into “Last Week Tonight” (0.6, 1.34 million).