Game of Thrones S6 ratings so far: an overview 

We are now at the middle of the current season (already!), and it is time to look at the ratings so far, which in turn means you are going to see another shiny graph. Here it is (you can click to enlarge):

As you will remember, the season started out strong, close to the record from last season finale, which lies just above the 8 million mark (8.11 to be precise). After two episodes in the range of 7.3, the initial viewership returned to the premiere levels at 7.9 million with episodes 604 and 605.

against other successful HBO shows reveals the show’s remarkable popularity. It surpassed 

as the most watched show in HBO’s history last year (unfortunately we lack reliable and consistent week-to-week numbers from that era). You can observe that

, the next most popular show, was reaching over 3 million fewer viewers at the same stage of its run, i.e. by its sixth season.

While we wait for the latest numbers on episode 606, which aired on Sunday during the Memorial Day weekend, we can also look at the drops in initial viewership that

experienced when airing on the holiday Sunday. That happened three times in the past (episodes 107, 209, and 507) and the average drop was one of 10 % compared to the average of the two preceding episodes. Last year, the drop was particularly severe with one whole million fewer pairs of eyes, or 17 %. This year, an average drop would bring the viewership to just above 7 million, and a drop of the same size as last year to 6.5 million. These two benchmarks should give us some perspective when assessing this years Memorial Day weekend numbers.

What are your predictions for the future? Let us know in the comments, as always.

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Viewership will probably drop a bit then go up again for the finale.

S6E06 was a bit of a let-down, felt like a “setup” episode with some awkward writing.

Bryan Cogman’s writing isn’t awkward… it’s awesome! I’m sure the last scene was added by editors and it’s not Cogman’s stuff. (Just like they put Hound-Bronn scene in S2E09 which wasn’t GRRM’s writing)

While obviously you can’t know until you’re actually watching the episode, I had had a feeling this episode would be a ‘quieter’ type with plenty of set-up for the rest of the series. It was a good episode but I imagine the more casual viewer would feel a little let-down following the emotional rollercoaster of the last couple of weeks.

With it being Memorial Day in the States the figures will probably drop a little and then build back up again next week – nothing to worry about!

But why would the more casual viewer expect the rollercoaster to keep on rolling without any kind of setup? 🙂 I actually think S6E06 was quite good, even by GoT standards. Expect the viewership to drop a bit for Memorial Day and then jump back to the top. This is probably going to be the best season yet.

Prediction: ratings for any given episode will continue to bear no relationship to what the fandom thought of the previous week’s episode.

I’m with you on that, there needs to be set-up but I’m thinking of my own friends and family members who barely know the names of the characters but still tune in every week basically to see who’ll be killed so they have something to talk about at the water cooler the next day – those are the casual fans who can cause the viewing figures to drop and they represent a far higher population than the likes of us who seek out information online!

While I did enjoy the episode, I have to say I’m really not digging King’s Landing at all this year – Cersei’s little speeches about vengeance and almost anything the HS says are quite boring to me compared to all the other amazing storylines – if I’m honest I need Cersei to just start losing her mind and shouting about burning the city to the ground!

Honestly i rather the show don’t pander to the ADHD audiences,these are the type of people who ruined Hollywood where you need an action scene every 10 minutes otherwise the iphone drone audiences might lose patience with their short attention span,no,the show is fine as it is . So what if the rating drops a little,it’s not like this show needs ratings anymore,it’s already a cultural phenomenom .

Absolutely and I fully agree with you, I trust D&D and I trust HBO to not do this to the show but it’s the ADHD -type viewers who make up a huge amount of the viewing population.

A drop in ratings would certainly not affect my view of the show but it frustrates me when people dip in and out of it purely because they’re not finding enough excitement in an episode – they need to realise that a set up episode is always necessary.

We have been incredibly spoilt this season and while this episode would be further down my personal list of favourites it’s still a million times better than anything else that’s out there!

But it does make me question why the hell are people complaining about the next seasons being shorter if they don’t like these setup episodes,that means the last two seasons will be very eventful .

Could be that those opposite opinions simply come from different people, no?

I don’t think there is ever anything to worry about! Hahaha

Certainly nothing to worry about Dee we can rest assured there! Are you saying you agree with me on the King’s Landing storyline or the frustration of casual viewers? 🙂

the frustration of the casual viewers. I have had a few friends message me and say “It was good but not as good as last week.

Well you think?????????????????? We cant have a hold the door or red wedding in every episode. It kind of annoys me because I love this show and the quieter moments are some of the most important.

I bet you my friends didn’t even notice the how important those visions were.

Re: kings landing… Its been my least favorite of the seasons (still good though, especially after what transpired last episode) but I agree I am kind of over it.

That’s the thing! I was stupidly delighted when my other half guessed it was Benjen – he hasn’t read the books and has only recently realised how much he needs to actually pay attention to details so I was happy he guessed right.

I can guarantee my family though have absolutely no recollection as to who he even is! After 6 years they still say things like “that khaleesi girl with the dragons” so there is no way they caught the importance of Bran’s visions, I’ve given up explaining it!

I have a few cousins who message me and ask me questions and require explanation, which is nice as in theyre trying to make the effort to learn. I have also convinced a few that to fully enjoy the show you must rewatch all the seasons before each season airs.

I’ve been feeling very nostalgic recently for the early days. I remember the very first ratings graphs. Amazing how GoT rose to be the undisputed king of them all.

I’m using na app called TVShow Time, to track episodes of the series I watch.

It is already showing the names of the last three episodes, but in German (the app is in English and I live in Brazil, so… go figure).

09 – Die Schlacht der Bastarde (The Battle of the Bastards)

10 – Die Winde des Winters (The Winds of Winter)

Just here, for the 18th time in 5 years, to say “None of these numbers mean anything.”

Thanks! See you all next time when you post more ridiculous overnight numbers that mean absolutely nothing!

Thanks for perpetuating ignorance with your influence!

Actually, that last part isn’t sarcasm. I do love you guys… even if you are perpetuating ratings ignorance. It’s not like any of this is important.

It does look fan-made, right? I mean “The Battle of the Bastards” is too obvious.

I don’t think any of their ratings mean anything at this point in the game 😉

How many people watched the first airing of GOT live.

I like to know, so don’t click these articles anymore lol

Becks, are you Unsullied? This episode had epic reactions from us Sullied, but it also felt like an episode that was specially designed to give the Sullied everything we’d been salivating for. I wondered if there would be a great divide between how Sullied and Unsullied viewed this particular episode. I need to checkout the Unsullied post and responses, don’t I? But I try to stay away since I’m not particularly effective at resisting the temptation to comment.

On average, the likability ratings for S606 are extraordinarily high, even for GoT, at 9.7. “The Door,” S605, was epic. Both of these awesomely high likability ratings bode well for how many will watch future episodes, and so I would predict that the ratings for the remainder of the season (not including Memorial Day weekend’s episode) will continue to rise over the first half of the season. We might see dips, but Episodes 9 and 10 will be particularly hyped and so particularly high, hopefully breaking records for both episodes.

The titles are probably real. Below are the supposed synopses:

June 12: “No One”: Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) finds cause for concern. Cersei (Lena Headey) prepares for the worst. Sansa (Sophie Tuner) takes control. Arya (Maisie Williams) is not alone. Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss; directed by Mark Mylod.

June 19: “Battle of the Bastards”: Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) surprises his audience. Jon (Kit Harington) retaliates. Dany (Emilia Clarke) is true to her word. Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss; directed by Miguel Sapochnik.

June 26: “The Winds of Winter”: A queen comes forth. Euron (Pilou Asbæk) reveals himself. Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) meets a friend turned foe. King’s Landing awaits justice. The Night’s Watch gathers. Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss; directed by Miguel Sapochnik.

about 30 mins ago I just went into complete geek mode and created a table in excel with the imdb ratings for each episode…. as I was curious to see the ratings (likeability factor) of each episode.

Prediction: ratings for any given episode will continue to bear no relationship to what the fandom thought of the previous week’s episode.

If Marko would publish or email me the numbers from from his spreadsheet graph, I’d love to prove this statement false. There is a at least some association between the previous week’s likability ratings on IMDb and viewership numbers. I believe the relationship might even be a strong one.

and Cirsei is in serious trouble looking at the KL awaits justice meme.

I’m so sorry that no one died this week to give us that water cooler moment. How rude. Maybe things will be better next week.

A queen comes forth = Sansa = Rickon dies. Wtf is up with the spoilery Titles and descriptions

I’ve been feeling very nostalgic recently for the early days. I remember the very first ratings graphs. Amazing how GoT rose to be the undisputed king of them all.

How nice to hear that, thank you! 🙂

Which we always stress; we are very much aware of the limit of its importance 🙂 We love you, too.

Euron reveals himself? Dany stays true to her word? She’s leaving for Westeros in the finale!

Certainly nothing to worry about Dee we can rest assured there! Are you saying you agree with me on the King’s Landing storyline or the frustration of casual viewers? 🙂

King’s Landing isn’t what she used to be, and she isn’t what she’s gonna be, but she’s exactly what she is. Duh, you say. My point is that I believe we’re in a lull in KL, but it will get better. Soon.

Most likely shows his crazy side and/or

Queen can be Cersei, Marg, Dany and Sansa. Even Olenna.

I would REALLY take all this with a grain of salt.

Seems like a “new” queen. Don’t think its Cersei or Margery as kings landing is mentioned in another statement.

So its either New Queen Sansa = Rickon dies OR it has to do with Daeny. Doubt it.

the frustration of the casual viewers. I have had a few friends message me and say “It was good but not as good as last week.

I bet you my friends didn’t even notice the how important those visions were.

I know, right? I would text them back: “What?!!! If you had only spent ten hours on the 30-second Bran visions, freeze-framing, screenshooting, and theorizing like mad, you would have had a much better appreciation for the episode. An hour analyzing Margaery’s facial expressions and the Machiavellian plan beneath the mask would not have gone amiss, either.”

You expect us not to rage/hype over a small description! Preposterous! What fandom do you think you are part of, good sir!

You mean, not everyone spent 4+ houres on Bran’s vision and what they mean???

Where is this from, though. This is usually the time of the season where fake synopses and summaries start popping up everywhere.

According to reddit, it originates from IMDB’s forums. Which doesn’t bode well for this being legit.

It does look fan-made, right? I mean “The Battle of the Bastards” is too obvious.

I tend to think there is at least a 50% chance of truth, but I got the impression that Sue thought the chances were slimmer.

OMG! Where did the synopses come from? When I read the original article and the Sky page, I didn’t see any synopses, even in German, and I’d love to see where the original source is. Thanks.

ETA: Just Googled. These synopses do sound like fan speculation, but that doesn’t make the titles wrong since I don’t think they accompanied the synopses. Here is what I found when Googling: https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/4ltpp0/spoilers_everything_final_three_got_season_6/

Bryan Cogman’s writing isn’t awkward… it’s awesome! I’m sure the last scene was added by editors and it’s not Cogman’s stuff. (Just like they put Hound-Bronn scene in S2E09 which wasn’t GRRM’s writing)

You will never please everyone, but I totally agree with you that is was again, a great episode. The show is spot on in regards to taking that much material and jamming it into a television show while trying to keep a good quality of video. There will always be people who complain…how sad for them that they can’t find happiness.:)

Seriously, I feel bad for people who didn’t enjoy the episode. their loss

and haven’t previous episode descriptions come the same way at first

I don’t see a source for those “leaked” descriptions, so I won’t believe them for now.

Re: kings landing… Its been my least favorite of the seasons (still good though, especially after what transpired last episode) but I agree I am kind of over it.

I am so with you. I’m making my daughter watch D&D after the episode credits so she can understand a bit better and now that she’s watching “After the Thrones” it’s clarifying a lot for her. KL isn’t my favorite this season, but watching Jaime climbing the stairs on his horse (not an easy feat), the armor on the KG when Tommen came out that door and then the face off with his father/uncle where Jaime throws the armor on the floor was AWESOME…quiet but like you said, you can’t always have a RW or Hold the Door.

Yeah, those are definitely fake. An obvious tell for fake spoilers is the tendency to allude to Lady Stoneheart.

Unrelatedly, the new Aeron chapter (which they somehow managed to transcribe online) is one of the best TWOW excerpts to date, and I didn’t care for his previous POVs in AFFC.

A queen comes forth = Sansa = Rickon dies.

The titles and synopses are from reddit and/or imdb. The person who shared them claimed they were from the German Sky TV thing as well.

There’s no proof that they’re legit, but the synopses sure sound like it. If it’s fake it was very well done.

We have no idea if the alleged episode synopses are legitimate or not but for now, you all have got to keep these covered up in spoiler coding, including your reactions to them, in case something turns out to be real.

They have not provided an actual source as of yet. Saying vaguely “SkyTV” doesn’t count.

In fact it might be better if you started a post in the forums about this if you want to discuss it openly there.

Ginevra: King’s Landing isn’t what she used to be, and she isn’t what she’s gonna be, but she’s exactly what she is.Duh, you say.My point is that I believe we’re in a lull in KL, but it will get better.Soon.

I’m sure you’re right, I’m just being overly impatient when it comes to KL. I am absolutely loving every single other storyline this series but I think KL is missing the likes of Varys, Tyrion, Littlefinger etc. The HS, while being brilliantly manipulative tends to drone on a bit for me and Cersei is just annoying me at this stage to be honest.

It’s funny but the number don’t mean a lot to me, but it’s kind of nice to see them. I, for one, sat up and watched the season premiere, then couldn’t sleep at all, and then paid the next day when my alarm went off at 3:30 a.m. For me it was awesome to be able to stay up for once and watch it with my family, but in the US the numbers could be very skewed due to the holiday.

That’s the one group that deserves an OWN this week. The smithy’s that made the new kings guard armor reflecting the church and crown on the down low. Qyburns little birds are not doing their jobs.

My little exercise showed me that people love action/death.

The episodes with the highest ratings are Hardhome and the Rains of Castamere, followed by Blackwater. the Door, the lion and the rose, the mountain and viper.

The funny thing is, I even looked at the number of votes… most episodes have around 9000to 12000 votes on average…. but hardhome and rains of castamere have over 40,000 votes.

So its like most people think “I loved this episode so much I will vote”, and when they don’t love it that much, they don’t vote.

Elizabeth: I am so with you.I’m making my daughter watch D&D after the episode credits so she can understand a bit better and now that she’s watching “After the Thrones” it’s clarifying a lot for her.KL isn’t my favorite this season, but watching Jaime climbing the stairs on his horse (not an easy feat), the armor on the KG when Tommen came out that door and then the face off with his father/uncle where Jaime throws the armor on the floor was AWESOME…quiet but like you said, you can’t always have a RW or Hold the Door.

I love Inside the Episodes, The Game Revealed videos, and After the Thrones. AtT seems designed particularly for the less than avid fans with their “Who the fuck was that?” sections, their maps, and their detailed background explanations. They enlightened us to Margaery’s alternate agenda, which might not have been so clear to the casual viewer, and they pointed out that we might want to be a little dubious of Dany at the moment.

The guy who posted these “leaks” on IMDB is the same guy who posted that really fake video with

Michelle Fairley in the woods hinting at LSH,the fact that there are hints for LSH in synopses says it all

. I do have to give him credit for managing to copy HBO’s way of writing the episode synopses,he clearly put an effort into it .

honestly, I don’t usually read synopsises.. but I had started reading his message and was a bit late for that.

Guys totally irrelevant but I just followed James Faulkner (Randyll Tarly) on Twitter and he messaged me saying thank you *-*. I told him that his performance was brilliant and that we can’t wait to see Randyll again. What an amazing actor and person he is!

OT: Just saw this, pretty funny that despite the incredible costume designers, make-up etc – Aiden Gillen couldn’t take off his watch!

Mod note: This is fake. Please don’t spread it around here. Thanks. – Sue the Fury

Well Aidan did play that bad guy in the video game Quantum Break where he could manipulate time ,so apparently LF doesn’t only own a jetpack but a time machine as well .

Some fun stuff there. Cersei prepares for the worst? Prepping the wildfire nukes in case she loses her trial by combat? Sounds like it is in E10 because of “King’s Landing awaits justice”. My guess here is that Loras is the Seven’s Champion, as his penance. He will lose, but only after exposing FrankenMountain as the monster he is. This reveal voids the result, and all burns. Though this doesn’t quite jive with the “I choose violence” bit from the first trailer, so something is missing.

Tommen will die in E10, but I am not sure if it is due to Cersei’s fire, a sneak attack by Dorne (errr, fAegon) or both. Ideally Cersei being directly responsible is best for the story, but Dorne can’t possibly be sitting on the sideline until next year after the hot-hot-hot revenge arc they’ve been on. Perhaps Cersei’s fire will kill Margaery, and Tommen will suicide himself in front of Cersei. Hmmm…what are some other fun ways the story could stick it to her? Also note that GRRM said we’d be seeing Casterly Rock in TWOW. Cersei fleeing the capital after Tommen’s death and a Dorne attack would put her there (it’s either her or Jaime or more likely both…what other POV would be there?).

Tyrion and the cause for concern probably relates to the Harpy murders we see in the trailer. A war or siege commences, Dany saves the day next episode. That seems rather straightforward.

Ramsay surprising his “audience” is likely the burning crosses. He kills Rickon to bait Jon and his army, trying to antagonize them and get them to do something strategically stupid.

One that really intrigues me is Arya not being alone. I’ve been saying for a while that Needle doesn’t seem like enough for Arya to beat the Waif, because the Waif would expect Arya to find a way to arm herself. But, say, a cat to the face a dog mauling her? The Waif ain’t expecting that, now is she? Maybe we are getting a wargy surprise (and yes, I know, this would be out of nowhere on TV, but sometimes those things work…and I certainly hope Nymeria has a role to play going forward in both media!).

The other odd one is Euron. An Old Town attack would not be much of a “reveal”. There are plenty of possibilities here, but none really strike me as TV-ready.

And then, of course, comes our annual LSH tease. Though this one is so nakedly such that it might be intended ironically. My Bayesian probability of this theory finally being true just edged up infinitesimally.

OT: Just saw this, pretty funny that despite the incredible costume designers, make-up etc – Aiden Gillen couldn’t take off his watch!

Mwahaha! The current Three-Eyed Raven must have flown back in time to put it there.

I also saw an interview with the guy that plays Ramsey and he seems like the sweetest guy. He wants to die by dragon though!! don’t we all!!

I was wondering why i didn’t catch that up in the episode,it’s really annoying when people do things like that,probably a hater of the show who wants to show how “sloppy” the tv show is . Reminds me of those people who complained about Loras saying French sleeves,when he said fringed sleeves . I mean you could criticise story aspects of the show as much as you want but the technical details are almost always on point .

Ah fair enough, apologies Sue, couldn’t understand how they wouldn’t spot a detail like this so that makes sense!

honestly, I don’t usually read synopsises.. but I had started reading his message and was a bit late for that.

Sorry for not covering them in the first place. Though in my defense, I did warn “synopses below”, which should’ve been enough to be alarming.

Hey Dee you must hear this song if you haven’t already. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PKSEvydKcE I think you’ll love it 🙂

that euron reveals himself is when you see darrio reveal as euron

They do seem real enough in some parts ..if this is true then episode 9 won’t just be about north and kind of like hardhome.

Turns out you’re right, up to a point (you can get all the ratings data here). The coefficient for the previous episode’s IMDB rating as a predictor of the next episode’s change in ratings on the previous week is 0.4817, suggesting an episode following a 9-rated episode can expect to rate nearly 0.5 higher than one following an 8-rated episode. It’s statistically significant, although the R-squared isn’t much (around 0.2, so the model predicts 20% of the variation).

I totally forgot Loras and Mountain had beef in season 1. That sets them up more than bringing the hound back. I doubt the faith will want to antagonise the Tyrells by keeping Loras locked up so this is do able once he does it willingly.

Yeah, those are definitely fake.An obvious tell for fake spoilers is the tendency to allude to Lady Stoneheart.

Unrelatedly, the new Aeron chapter (which they somehow managed to transcribe online) is one of the best TWOW excerpts to date, and I didn’t care for his previous POVs in AFFC.

Yeah, even if this twist were to happen, there is no way that HBO would hint at this in the episode synopsis.

Is the Aeron one a totally new chapter? I am generally allergic to Greyjoy PoVs, but it’s nice to hear that it’s that good.

that was great mate, I regret that you couldn’t do any more. Bravo!

omg this is the WORSTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT article I have ever read.

At this stage, number of Viewers aren’t that important. there are 20 episodes left of the series. They will be done no matter how few or many that watches. The traitors D &D, off with their heads!

The show’s not an underdog anymore. There will be all sorts of contrarian voices. The amount of times I’ve read an article with comments that declare, “I’ve never seen an episode and I never will!” I mean, yeah, so what? But that’s the sort of people that popular shows draw, never mind the most popular TV show on the planet. And then you’ll get the smug “The show sucks now and if you can’t tell then you’re an idiot” type of articles and comments. All par for the course. When the show’s over and done they’ll move on to something else and all the fans will still cherish GoT,

Haha, I know right? I could listen to this guy all day.

Jesus, his first reason is literally “noone died last episode, worst show ever”.

its just how can someone actually publish that? the guy sounds like an idiot.

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