Even with the leak, as well as major NFL and MLB games, Episode 10 brought in
9.3 Million US viewers on Sunday alone. Slightly below Episode 1 (9.99 Million US viewers), which indicates great viewer retention for the first season. Seeing how many people caved and watched the leaked version, myself included, those are much higher numbers than I expected.
More crucially, Nielsen revealed that
68% of the audience for House of the Dragon is concentrated in the 18-49 age group. With ROP only 29% of its audience is under 35. Actual viewership isn't as far apart as early numbers indicated, though HOTD does seem to fare slightly better.
So why does the age thing matter? Investors, advertisers, and most of all social engagement. For example hashtag views on TikTok via business insider:
619 million for #TheRingsofPower vs 5.1 billion for #HouseoftheDragon.
Another great advantage for HBO Max is that people are still (re-)watching Game of Thrones as well. Good for
586 million minutes watched on HBO Max in the US this week alone. The longevity of HOTD, after the final episode airs, is going to be the next thing to watch. It will be a while until Nielsen catches up with those numbers though.