After a solid start, viewership for House of the Dragon episode 3 dropped by around 28% from episode 2. Acting as a prequel to Game of Thrones, HBO’s latest adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s fantasy novels chronicles the events of the Targaryen civil war. House of the Dragon takes place almost 200 years before the events of its predecessor, introducing a host of new characters and locations. The premiere episode of the new series was watched by over 10 million viewers, making it the biggest series premiere in HBO’s history.
Not long after hitting the series premiere milestone, HBO renewed House of the Dragon for a second season. With its second episode, the show beat its own record, experiencing an even higher number of viewers than the premiere. Episode 3, titled “Second of His Name,” upped the action significantly, seeing Matt Smith’s Daemon Targaryen undertake a daring assault against the Crabfeeder (Daniel Scott-Smith), earning a collective cheer from House of the Dragon fans on social media. Despite the positive response to the episode, however, the show experienced a drop in viewership on cable.
Per a new report from Variety, House of the Dragon episode 3 experienced a 28% drop in viewership from episode 2. According to Nielson’s ratings, episode 3 drew 2.5 million viewers, a significant drop from episode 2’s 3.5 million viewers. Notably, Nielson’s ratings only include traditional TV viewership and don’t account for the millions more viewers who tuned in via HBO Max.
Although Nielson’s latest ratings don’t factor in HBO Max viewership, released directly from HBO, the show is still performing very well, despite the drop. While Game of Thrones viewership was relatively easy to chart upon its premiere back in 2011, House of the Dragon‘s viewership numbers are made more complicated by the creation of HBO Max and the rise of streaming. The vast majority of viewers are now watching House of the Dragon on HBO Max, with episode 2 watched by 10.2 million in total, only 3.5 million of which came from traditional cable. Since HBO has yet to officially release the streaming data for episode 3, it’s unclear whether Nielson’s latest numbers represent a more general downward trend in the show’s viewership.
Generally, it’s not uncommon for new shows to experience a dip in viewership after their opening episode. Since House of the Dragon went up for episode 2, the show’s positive reviews and word of mouth have evidently been strong, with that dip coming in episode 3 instead. Game of Thrones steadily grew in viewership each season, suggesting that if House of the Dragon follows a similar path, the show will only become more popular over time. While it’s difficult to understand the whole picture without HBO Max’s streaming data, the latest drop in cable viewership still leaves House of the Dragon a massive success.
