Strong Ratings for Game of Thrones

[Westeros]

Despite the breaking news that likely impacted the viewership of HBO’s Game of Thrones in other time zones (the East Coast managed to be finished just before word started to get out that an announcement was pending), James Hibberd of Entertainment Weekly has broken the news that the third episode scored 2.4 million viewers—up about 10% from last week—and added an additional 700,000 at its 11PM encore to reach the 3.1 million mark in total, again, 200,000 better than last week’s 2.9 million mark.

Hibberd also adds that the premiere has risen to 8.7 million views in total, via all HBO platforms such as On Demand and HBO GO.

At the same time, good news in the U.K., as Game of Thrones holds steady, dropping only a very small amount to 510,000 viewers, which is on the top end for Sky Atlantic.

Visit the Site!

[Arya The Assassin]

Despite the breaking news that likely impacted the viewership of HBO’s Game of Thrones in other time zones

What breaking news? :leer:

Entertainment Weekly has broken the news that the third episode scored 2.4 million viewers—up about 10% from last week—and added an additional 700,000 at its 11PM encore to reach the 3.1 million mark in total, again, 200,000 better than last week’s 2.9 million mark.

I was hoping that positive word-of-mouth would bring would in more viewers, so this is good news. Since they've already decided to renew the series for a second season, I'm not that concerned about the ratings, but it would still be nice if the series becomes a popular success.

At the same time, good news in the U.K., as Game of Thrones holds steady, dropping only a very small amount to 510,000 viewers, which is on the top end for Sky Atlantic.

So the series has dropped each week since the opening in the UK? A bit surprising, I'd think the interest there would be at least as high as in the US.

[Ferrum Aeternum]

Great news and (to me at least) very surprising. I'm especially pleased that encore presentation had just as many viewers as last week despite the aforementioned "breaking news" that had the entire country enthralled for half the night. That is a huge endorsement of the growth of the series and positive word of mouth!

[thorny throne]

Oh, so happy to hear that.

[Arya The Assassin]

There's been a lot of positive press about the increasing ratings for GoT after episode 3. I found this interesting breakdown over at tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com:

Game of Thrones (HBO, 9:02pm, 56 minutes)

- 2.438 million viewers

- 1.5/2 HH

- 1.1/3 A18-49

[DecoyRunner]

Those are fantastic numbers. Booyah.

Maximum Dinklage airtime ftw

[Pearson Moore]

I have no fears regarding the ongoing success of GoT. Production values could change. For instance, if it becomes evident somewhere in the 3rd season that this is going to go all the way, GRRM is going to have to get into gear and finish the 6th book for the 6th or 7th season, and at that point we might anticipate a possible reduction in quality due to his more frequent absences during production and post-production. HBO could suffer hits from other directions and be forced to reduce production costs across the board, causing quality to take a hit. But barring these types of unpleasantries, I am not concerned for GoT's future.

The way I see it, there are four ways a show can fail: Characters, Plot, Plausibility, and Atmosphere. The more sympathetic and original the characters, the more attractive they become to viewers. Truly great shows, like The Wire and LOST, deliver nuanced, multi-dimensionality across the full range of protagonists and antagonists and supporting characters. GoT is doing this well so far. The plot must be tight, non-formulaic, and must include at least a few unexpected but internally-consistent twists. I think LOST actually went too far in that direction, to the point of losing viewers despite sympathetic and original characters. I feel GoT is so far hitting exactly the right plot notes, remaining original in all respects, but not going wild, as it might have done. Plausibility is so utterly lacking in much of fantasy, and the generation and maintenance of a highly plausible world and conditions has to be reckoned one of GRRM's greatest achievements in ASoIaF--something that is so far being faithfully emulated in the television series. The atmosphere in GoT has been second to none.

Looking at the show objectively, it really has the potential at this point to become a must-watch classic. If I assign a high value of 4 for Characters, Plot, Plausibility, and Atmosphere, in that order, this is what I come up with for some popular television shows:

The Wire 4, 2, 4, 4 The 2 in Plot is for overly-dense and uneven plotting.

Lost 4, 3, 3, 4 The 3 in Plot is for too many twists, 3 in plausibility for some inconsistencies

House 4, 2, 4, 3 The 2 in Plot is for being formulaic

Law And Order 2, 1, 3, 4 If not for fine atmosphere, this most formulaic of all shows wouldn't have had a chance.

Star Trek TOS 4, 3, 4, 2 The two in atmosphere is for unimaginative sets

Mad Men 4, 3, 4, 4 A "small" show, but one of the best ever made for television

CSI Miami 2, 2, 4, 3 Some of the most unoriginal characters on television

The Sopranos 4, 4, 4, 4 A true classic.

Survivor 4, 2, 4, 3 Formulaic, but every season has an interesting new twist.

Band of Brothers 4, 4, 4, 4 Another HBO classic. Possibly the best drama ever on television.

Rome 3, 3, 4, 4 If I could award 5 for atmosphere... Wow! Made up for weak characters and plot.

Game of Thrones 4, 4, 4, 4 SO FAR another classic

That's my assessment so far. Since GoT is "big," I think it has the opportunity to gain close to the maximum HBO audience. As long as they hew close to the novels, keep GRRM on board, and don't lose financial support, the show should become a classic.

[Herr Fick]

I have no fears regarding the ongoing success of GoT. Production values could change. For instance, if it becomes evident somewhere in the 3rd season that this is going to go all the way, GRRM is going to have to get into gear and finish the 6th book for the 6th or 7th season, and at that point we might anticipate a possible reduction in quality due to his more frequent absences during production and post-production.

This is not a concern, since according to various sources - including himself - Mr Martin's influence on decisions pertaining to the production and post-production of Game of Thrones is insignificant to non-existent (except perhaps for casting choices).

I will refrain from commenting in detail on your assessments of other television programmes because it would be off-topic. Just this much: I don't agree with most, well, many of them. The Wire neither has too dense nor uneven a plot and is by far the best of all series you listed (trailed by The Sopranos), Star Trek might be funny but has never been plausible, House M.D. features only one character to speak of, while Mad Men - though great fun to watch - has no plot to speak of, and Lost is mainly fasionable nonsense.

That said, I quite like your four-points-four-categories-system.

[Pearson Moore]

Herr Fick,

Thank you for your kind response to my post. I was hoping there would be at least a few disagreements with my assignments--in your post I hit a jackpot! It sounds like we're pretty much in agreement on The Wire and The Sopranos, though.

My point in sampling a broad cross-section of dramas was to indicate GoT's position in my mind as a leader in the four categories I consider crucial to television drama. I just don't see much weakness so far, even if I try to be objective. Seems to me GoT has a great future in store!

Thanks again for contributing to the discussion.

[ExLibris]

This is good news, especially for the future of the show. :cheers:

I also dropped by my local Borders the other day and took a look in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section, and there wasn't a single ASoIaF book on the shelf! The show is enticing more people to pick up the books? I hope so. :read:

[Pearson Moore]

This is good news, especially for the future of the show. :cheers:

I also dropped by my local Borders the other day and took a look in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section, and there wasn't a single ASoIaF book on the shelf! The show is enticing more people to pick up the books? I hope so. :read:

ExLibris,

The four-volume ASoIaF boxed set is #8 in books at Amazon. Based on what you saw at Borders, it seems like the ASoIaF novels are selling like never before!

[Lord Godric]

ExLibris,

The four-volume ASoIaF boxed set is #8 in books at Amazon. Based on what you saw at Borders, it seems like the ASoIaF novels are selling like never before!

Awesome! Hopefully this means that as more people become fans of the books series, season 2 will have good numbers and the show wont end there!

[Arya The Assassin]

The way I see it, there are four ways a show can fail: Characters, Plot, Plausibility, and Atmosphere.

... Plausibility is so utterly lacking in much of fantasy, ...

I don't think plausibility itself is that important: The important thing is that the show abides by its own internal logic and established rules. So plausibility becomes a relative term, within the fictional framework set by the show itself (not absolute from today's perspective).

Looking at the show objectively, it really has the potential at this point to become a must-watch classic.

It's difficult to predict how things will evolve in later seasons (if more than two seasons are produced), but I share your optimism. If they can maintain at least the same level of quality in season two, and keep the audience's interest, then it should bode well for a third season.

Like I've said before (in another thread), I believe the success of a series like GoT will initially rely heavily on word-of-mouth (because many people don't like fantasy, even though GoT puts emphasis on drama and is aimed towards a more general audience). And it appears that so far WoM has been very positive, and I think GoT will continue to attract more viewers.

Critics and professional reviewers who've already seen the first 6 episodes (or more), have also said that the show gets even better later in the season.

As long as they hew close to the novels, keep GRRM on board, and don't lose financial support, the show should become a classic.

Although GRRM is listed as a producer, he's not actually involved in the final, day-to-day decision-making. He's consulted, but he doesn't have the final word. GRRM has written one episode, though, and he's said that he'll be writing another episode for season two. He's also been involved in casting, and he might be involved in casting for season two.

But of course having him on the team has an important symbolic effect as well: It shows that the author himself is officially supporting the series, and this can be very important for fans.

This is not a concern, since according to various sources - including himself - Mr Martin's influence on decisions pertaining to the production and post-production of Game of Thrones is insignificant to non-existent

He doesn't have the final word, but that's not necessarily the same thing as having no influence at all. The producers can ask for his advice, and it's up to them to discard his input or not. And this is the way it should be, in my opinion.

[Herr Fick]

He doesn't have the final word, but that's not necessarily the same thing as having no influence at all. The producers can ask for his advice, and it's up to them to discard his input or not. And this is the way it should be, in my opinion.

I wrote that Martin's influence in matters of production (except for casting choices) and especially post-production is insignificant to non-existent. As far as we know, this is the case. Gemma Jackson explicitly stated that she did not try to copy Martin's vision (which she likely doesn't know much about) but to create her own instead. And this, by the way, is as it should be.

[The hairy bear]

Lost 4, 3, 3, 4 The 3 in Plot is for too many twists, 3 in plausibility for some inconsistencies

Some?!?! :tantrum:

Rome 3, 3, 4, 4 If I could award 5 for atmosphere... Wow!

Too bad you can't. If only this was a rating system created by yoursalf and thus you could make the rules...

[iheartseverus]

Too bad you can't. If only this was a rating system created by yoursalf and thus you could make the rules...

Good for you. Loved this post. :owned:

[Arya The Assassin]

I wrote that Martin's influence in matters of production (except for casting choices) and especially post-production is insignificant to non-existent. Gemma Jackson explicitly stated that ...

I don't think there's disagreement about that (see my response to Pearson). I had the impression that Pearson believed that GRRM was heavily involved with the production as a whole, and that his 'hands-on' involvement was important for the quality of the series.

But that's not really the case, although he was tightly involved in the crucial casting process and development of the scripts during development/pre-productions stages (*). I also find it comforting that he's onboard and that he's supporting the series.

(*) He saw all the audition videos and shared his views. He also commented on the scripts. It's worth mentioning that GRRM is satisfied with the communication between him, the showrunners and HBO. He feels that he's part of the process, although he doesn't have the final word.

And this, by the way, is as it should be.

I agree, although that's a rather subjective issue. Some might argue that he should be more heavily involved in the production design, but I personally don't think it's necessary. The production designer has the right to do it the way she wants (even though hardcore fans might not like to hear that), and discard the author's suggestions or the source material if they feel that it's not suitable for a TV series (for financial, practical or aesthetic reasons). I believe it's more important that he's involved in the bigger, strategic 'picture', such as casting, the overall plotline and development of the TV-series.

[Padraig]

The production designer has the right to do it the way she wants (even though hardcore fans might not like to hear that), and discard the author's suggestions or the source material if they feel that it's not suitable for a TV series (for financial, practical or aesthetic reasons).

I believe the argument goes that if you want a really good production designer (or any other creative role) you can't restrict that person's role too much. Let them create.

[Kese]

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a318691/strangeways-locks-up-55m-on-itv1.html

Fantasy drama Game Of Thrones had 628k (2.6%) on Sky Atlantic from 9pm.

Rising!

[Ran]

That's a 20% increase over last week. Some of that has to be put down to the holiday last weekend, but I suspect a good chunk of that could well be buzz.