The trailer for season 3 of Game of Thrones has accumulated over 10 million views on YouTube in a little over 2 days. How impressive is that? Well, just last season, the “Shadow” trailer acquired 3.5 million views in the same time frame and HBO touted it as a record for any sort of online promotional content they had put out. Obviously, this trailer has blown that one out of the water and set a new record.
Which raises the question, just how popular is this show? I think you could make a case that it is the most popular show on HBO right now. And may be the most popular HBO show ever.
We know that officially HBO has declared Game of Thrones its third most-watched show ever, behind True Blood and The Sopranos. Well, True Blood is slowing down and Thrones will likely end up surpassing it this season in total viewers. However, what the total viewer numbers don’t take into account are home video sales, international viewers and, perhaps most important of all, pirating. Game of Thrones was the most pirated show of 2012, with an average of 4 million downloads per episode. And it broke its own record for home video sales, becoming yet again the fastest-selling box set ever for HBO. It has aired in nearly every country on Earth and set viewer records in some of those countries. Neither True Blood nor The Sopranos have done as well internationally, both were outsold by Thrones in home video and neither have been pirated nearly as much (or pirated at all really, in The Sopranos case).
When you add it all up, I would wager that Game of Thrones is the most-watched HBO show ever and, quite possibly, one of the most-watched shows on TV today.
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136 Comments
FIRST!!!
AVESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!
denizreyizQuote Reply
Second! :P
And this is fantastic news! Go, Game of Thrones!!! :D
alb356Quote Reply
First. I personaly know only two persons near my age that have not seen this series or read books. And this is fantastic news. HBO can with no regret give as much money sa producers want. We will watch all trailers, all episodes and buy DVDs at least, because BR are very expensive in my country.
EDIT: Third, but close.
bonQuote Reply
Out for True Blood.
digQuote Reply
Reassuring news. No worries about cancellation. The only problem remaining is what happens when D&D overtake GRRM.
Currer BellQuote Reply
Well deserved. International is definitely the key word here.
Does the pirating statistic take into account watching it online? I know A LOT of people torrent the show, but I also know A LOT of people stream it online through sites like Tvlinks and Fastpasstv etc…
Nick_ScryerQuote Reply
Well, if it’s most watched show ever, it is, logically the most watched show on TV actually! ;p
Nick, streaming, if on illegal platforms is, indeed piracy…
But it is stupid, when directdownload or torrent can procure 1080p episodes while streaming only provides some tiny 480p at maximum… but anyway, we’re not here to discuss this ! ^^
ArkashQuote Reply
I was a bit underwhelmed by the trailer at first, but it’s growing on me.
Still no-where near as good as the ‘Fear & Blood’ of Season 1 or ‘Seven Devils’ of season 2.
ObosiQuote Reply
World wide popular… they should invent an Oscar for GoT!
It is quite popular in Romania, too, altough it still has to reach it’s true potential.
AdrianAegonQuote Reply
Well I thought the show would gain steam by the third or fourth season, but I’ll be surprised if it starts pulling True Blood numbers.
dizzyQuote Reply
Even George Takei posted a link to the season 3 trailer on facebook some days ago..
Roger KönigQuote Reply
That’ll teach ‘em to not wait so long to release a trailer!
errr…
;)
BrandiceQuote Reply
well deserved. its also the show with most votes on imdb (nearly 270k) but walking dead is closing in kind of.
the (financial) success is very good for the CGI budget of future seasons, i presume. cant wait to see what they pull off.
nomisumQuote Reply
It’s amazing! So pleased for the show! As well as the season 2 DVD/ Blu Ray sales! And it’s not even out in the UK yet! (Got my copy pre-ordered!)
I would say Thrones is definitely the biggest HBO show at the moment. True Blood is nowhere near as popular as it used to be and Boardwalk Empire (Although really good) has never been that big.
As for biggest HBO show ever, I would say its biggest competition would be the Sopranos. It was an amazing show (One of my favourite) and was massive at the time. There was alot of tie-in merchandise and it has massive DVD sales.
QuowalaQuote Reply
Does anyone know if we’re getting a 2 minute trailer today?
Jake RogersQuote Reply
Not surprised at all. True Blood has been losing steam, last season kind of sucked and I won’t be surprised if this next season will be the final season. It was a good show but I’m kind of over it. I adore GoT; I see many successful years ahead. So excited.
StarfishQuote Reply
Repeating myself, but: been watching television since the days of Broadway-worthy teleplays and serials (e.g. Requiem For A Heavyweight),and GoT is the best TV production I have ever seen. The numbers quoted above are no surprise to me, and I fully expect them to increase. Well done to the cast and crew!
3eyesQuote Reply
Perhaps HBO is a bit more savvy in terms of marketing than we were giving them credit for. Delaying the trailer certainly created a rabid appetite for it. They may have been holding off till after the DVD/BluRays came out, so that it was fresh on everyone’s brain. Hopefully, the marketing machine is about to kick in to overdrive and we’ll be getting new stuff every week leading up to the premiere.
VillaneQuote Reply
Just realized that the Season 3 finale of The Walking Dead airs at the same time as the season opener for Thrones. It is also Easter Sunday. Thoughts on viewership?
JackQuote Reply
Shame HBO has not figured a way to fully leverage their audience. I am sure there are a large number of non-cable+HBO subscribers who watch.
RichManQuote Reply
Remember when some of you were freaking out that they weren’t putting a trailer out soon enough and I kept telling you to relax because marketing had a plan?
Remember?
‘member?!
Well, there you go. That’s why they get the big bucks.
GeekFuriousQuote Reply
Does anyone know if we will still get that 2-3 minute trailer on HBO Go today? Would seem very quick off the mark, but there is little time left.
Also, do you think we will get character or group promotional videos this year too? Like one for the Brotherhood and one for the Wildlings? Something cool like that.
The B of B-townQuote Reply
I’ve probably watched the trailer 50 times, so apologies forartificially inflating the numbers
PaulQuote Reply
I’ve been saying it is the most popular show in the world since the beginning of season 2. This show is massively popular in the US, averaging nearly 11 million viewers per episode on HBO’s many platforms. And that is with HBO only having 30 million subscribers in the US. But what makes the show is that it may be even more popular worldwide. HBO is able to charge large licensing fees(another source of revenue from this show) because of that popularity. I expect ratings and BR/DVD sales to continue to climb. Hopefully HBO continues to increase the budget for the more CGI heavy shots to come. I have little doubt that they will.
Tyrion PimpslapQuote Reply
Jake Rogers,
I just came here to ask the same thing. Where is this so called 2 minute trailer that was announced? Did HBO cock up and mean the 60 second trailer that aired on Jimmy Kimmel?
MattQuote Reply
Given the number of times that I watched the trailer (and I don’t even really like it that much), I think the more relevant stat is not the number of times it has been watched, but the total number of unique viewers. 10 million is impressive, to be sure. But what if the real number is, say, 800,000 unique viewers? Quite a different number.
My point: let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.
Steel_WindQuote Reply
Why the surprise that GOT is doing so well in so many categories. Quality entertainment always rises to the top. I’m just going to sit back and enjoy it all. Thanks HBO for acknowledging quality…….
Lynn sandyQuote Reply
I’ve probably watched the trailer over ten times so far and the number is rising. March 31st is wayyyyy to far away.
brightroarQuote Reply
Steel_Wind,
It is pacing ahead of last year’s first trailer by 7 million views. And while youtube views don’t tell the whole story, ratings,DVD/BR sales, and torrent downloads certainly do.
Tyrion PimpslapQuote Reply
nice! The trailer is very good and all the people wants the season 3 rigth now, It is normal!!
Juego de tronosQuote Reply
I am not so sure about the statement that Sopranos have not done well internationally.
As far as my country is concerned (Croatia) they did great. They even broke into the slang like: “Look at those guys, they look like Sopranos”.
The_RabbitQuote Reply
Unfortunately not always the case :(
Freaks and Geeks, Firefly, Odyssey 5, all disappeared and deserved so much better. Meanwhile, crap like soap operas and reality shows pull in 20 million + viewers.
Matt NQuote Reply
GoT won’t be able to touch the Sopranos. Different era, different genre.
True Blood, on the other hand, is fresh meat ready for the taking…
JamesQuote Reply
Game Of Thrones is very popular, I just hope it translates to a ratings increase. I mean True Blood gets strong ratings and as much as I like it you can’t deny that it’s a bit silly and OTT at times with no where near the substance or excitement that GOT brings.
Al SwearengenQuote Reply
Winter is coming,
Do you think it is time the show writer’s slow down a little and start splitting the books in to multiple seasons? They’ve captured the audience and have their attention, it would be a good time to flesh things out. LAst season while good, felt tragically rushed. I fear with all the content this season could be similar, but the next two books afford an opportunity to slow it up and really knock it out of the park.
Thoughts?
I’m sure George is gonna have to do some speed writing to keep up!
wolf dragonQuote Reply
Currer Bell,
I am not worried because George is part of the team and has told D & D the outline of the rest of the story, plus it’s not like they don’t have enough information about characters already to make scripts and dialogue etc.
If they do finish the current books before George is able to bring out another my hope and dream is for HBO and D & D to tackle Robert’s Rebellion in a prequel mini series.
Al SwearengenQuote Reply
Currer Bell,
To me that’s the point behind the HBO deal with GRRM. He writes and delivers portions of DoS to D&D. Just my badly put together theory.
GreatJon of SlumberQuote Reply
So does this mean that the trailer on HBO On Demand that came out today isn’t a new trailer? It’s just this one? :(
GGQuote Reply
season 2 trailer was also awsome, but the season was not so good. i hope season 3 won’t have the same fate as season 2. aSoS is the best novel so far
The KingslayerQuote Reply
The Kingslayer,
Season 2 was still great but like the book it just didn’t blow my socks off like the first one did, I have no doubts that season 3 and 4 will be special.
Al SwearengenQuote Reply
Gosh, that’s awesome. I’m certain Game of Thrones will overtake True Blood within the next season or two, especially with the killer content of Storm of Swords.
True Blood viewership
Game of Thrones viewership (in thousands, season 2 in red)
Especially with such international popularity. I’m constantly surprised by how many of my friends, even ones who don’t typically like fantasy, are obsessed with the show.
BrianQuote Reply
The Kingslayer,
‘A Game of Thrones’ was awesome but ‘A Clash of Kings’ was not so good. ‘A Storm of Swords’ is by far the best of the books. And in my opinion seasons 3 and 4 will be the best of ‘Game of Thrones’.
Tyrion PimpslapQuote Reply
According to Wikipedia, the lowest ratings for the last season of TB were 4.41 mil, and the show got over 5 mil only on the premiere and the finale. The highest it did was 5.53 mil, during the 4th season. GoT finished season 2 with 4.2 mil. While I don’t think GoT will get better numbers than TB in its prime, I am sure it will get ratings similar to what TB got last season.
Alex DubrovskyQuote Reply
Even in South Africa, this show is HUGE! It’s definitely well on it’s way to becoming one of the biggest TV shows ever.
King DBCQuote Reply
Much as I love the show, it’s premature to call it topping Sopranos’ popularity. True Blood, I think it has a decent chance of surpassing in every metric by the end of this season, but Sopranos is a lot harder to judge.
The ratings system didn’t work in quite the same way when it was airing, which makes it difficult to get truly accurate numbers just to begin with. Then you have changes in the market that make judging relative success difficult. The DVD market, especially for television shows, was not nearly what it is now, and many of the people who buy the DVDs have already seen the show elsewhere. The DVDs represent an audience who is willing to spend extra money on the show rather than an expansion of the existing audience. But it’s difficult to say that Sopranos fans were less enthused about it based on lower sales of a type of product that fewer people were buying in general.
There’s also the fact that there is currently a larger market for the type of high quality television that Thrones represents than their was at the time The Sopranos aired, because Sopranos essentially created that market. Using made up numbers for illustrative purposes: If a shows draws a million viewers out of a pool of 10 million, is it ten times more popular than a show that draws 100 thousand out of 100 thousand potential viewers, or ten times less? It really depends on how you’re defining things.
I think that Thrones will probably surpass True Blood’s peak sometime this season, certainly it should pass where True Blood is now without much trouble. As long as they don’t drop the ball, I expect they’ll have definitely surpassed TB’s peak by next season, but whether it has topped Sopranos will greatly depend on just how well the show actually does and will be significantly harder to judge unless it reaches a point where it’s a clear blowout.
Delta1212Quote Reply
I know I can account for at least one hundred of those views :-D
MrsWunQuote Reply
thats actually pretty cool…. increases the odds of us getting the entire ASIOAF on TV :)
if only we had more books to read!
Omar SherwaniQuote Reply
Jake Rogers,
Matt,
The trailer on HBO On Demand is the same one that aired on Jimmy Kimmel Live and which is currently racking up YouTube views. The runtime listed on the On Demand schedule is a bit off, that’s all.
Winter Is ComingQuote Reply
Anyone knows how much they have soent on the budget for season 3? I think it would be interesting to see the evolution of the money spent of the show each season…
StarkQuote Reply
Yo, King DBC, are you South-African? So am I, Aegon the Conqueror and Andrea :D
mags giantsbabeQuote Reply
Stark,
Season 1: 55 million
Season 2: 70 million
Season 3: >70 million
Kit Harrington has said HBO put more money into season 3. I would guess the show will approach 85-90 million in future seasons when the dragons are grown.
Tyrion PimpslapQuote Reply
Alex Dubrovsky,
True Blood at it’s zenith is what I should have stated. You’re right.
dizzyQuote Reply
Moreover, the ratings are only reflective of comparative American viewership. The international viewership and revenue for GoT is quite a bit higher than it is for either of Tru-Blood or BE — or The Sopranos. All of which points to GoT as a huge success all around.
Barring some disaster or other unforseen change in the quality of the show or the tastes of the potential viewership, I think this series is easily going to go the distance and we will see the end of ASoIaF on HBO before we ever read it. If we had made that bet four years ago here? It would have been dismissed as wishful thinking and a long-shot wager.
Well it isn’t such a long-shot now, is it? Indeed, I think most here would call it “the smart money”.
Steel_WindQuote Reply
Steel_Wind,
Youtube claims that they have a method for preventing artificial count inflation. They won’t specify what it is in order to prevent getting around it.
AnonymousQuote Reply
Yeah, I remember those times when we were all worried the show would be canceled prematurely.. ;)
Heck, I even remember those times when we were all wondering if the show would get picked up by HBO.
Fortunately, those dark times are over now. :D
zodQuote Reply
I think the international viewership is really important. That’s probably the main reason why the budget is getting higher every season.
AlenQuote Reply
To all those who said this trailer sucked … proved wrong!
novichasoQuote Reply
mags giantsbabe,
So am I :P
Winter, thanks for clearing that up!
MattQuote Reply
Matt
Sorry, can’t permalink on my phone, but that’s awesome! Me and Aegon are having a premiere party in Pretoria come April :)
mags giantsbabeQuote Reply
Just saw the GoT ad on Fury’s tumblr: Mind=blown
http://tumblrofthrones.tumblr.com/post/43999792491/greywatercrannog-this-is-a-fucking-awesome-ad
Well played hbo, well played.
ChibarinQuote Reply
All I need is 10,313,881 more viewings on my audition video and I’ll have matched it!! Come on, we can do it! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2GaRKbosQw
Jay SutherlandQuote Reply
Chibarin,
OK. So I guess that’s why they went with this as the official logo for S3.
I was one of those who found it a bit lame.. but I have to admit that this is indeed well played after all. ;)
zodQuote Reply
i just got the nerdgasm!! yay.
the waifQuote Reply
Great news, let’s hope season 3 follows this kind of viewership
FishQuote Reply
Currer Bell,
This is not going to happen. GRRM knows where he wants to go with the story. He thinks he will finished WoW in 2014 so I think that DoS will be in 2017. That’s season 7. And I think that season 7 will finished around 2/3 of WoW so they can finish the show at it’s 9th season.
wolf dragon,
They already do that. Season 3 will be roughly about 2/3 of SoS. Last season they hadn’t had another choice. Blackwater needed to be in season 2, and it couldn’t be in episode 10, so that become episode 9. And they needed to tell things for every character. The thing they could have done is dissapointed some actors/ actresses by reducing their story like it was in the books (Danny for instance) or making 57min episodes like this season. But even then they did a great job.
kevinQuote Reply
I remember there being an article about how the fantasy setting made this show more appealing to international audiences than any other HBO show because the latter often sets itself in an American culture …. which inherently alienates much of the non-Western world.
seanQuote Reply
I think one of them is having to play the whole video for it to count. it doesn’t count if you keep refreshing the page.
Joan CatalàQuote Reply
Awesome!
Now where’s that guy who, just a couple days ago, was saying that GOT’s popularity has fizzled and failed to “enter the zeitgeist”?
LexQuote Reply
sean,
Even for Europeans, some “pure American” shows aint as appealing as they could be… that is, yeah, one reason of GoT success: it internationality.
ArkashQuote Reply
Youtube seems pretty aggressive. They corrected the view counts of a bunch of videos posted by music companies at the end of last year. Sony and Universal alone lost nearly two billion views. They also deleted videos for hundreds of people for gaming the view counts.
lolQuote Reply
kevin,
I think they could have certainly stretched it a bit more. They could have expanded upon some things, for example more time with the greyjoys and the taking of castles. The could have fleshed out the qarth stuff alot better. IMO that was a very week part of the story. They could have had more of the red waste stuff from Dany’s pov, including the “ruin” they holed up in. this present season could have then had the fist of the first men stuff and gone from there…pushing the “assumed” finale for this season, into the next season.
It would have also allowed for a better harranhall sequence than what we got. It can’t be perfect I know. Its great and I’m thankful for it, I just dont want to see them rushing the next “books” onto the screen like last season.
wolf dragonQuote Reply
denizreyiz,
avsam indiid deniz
allalongthewatchtoweQuote Reply
Tyrion Pimpslap,
Well, maybe the producers/writers will *fix* what didn’t work in book 4 and 5. ;)
Omar BrownQuote Reply
11.2 million now!
The ad is simply awesome! Translates a bit less well to a poster, but super well played, HBO :)
Hear Me RoarQuote Reply
I am delighted at this good news for the shows buzz. As far as dany’s scenes in season two being a bit dull well in the clash of kings her story is dull as well only house of undying and that seems impossible to recreate on tv. Book three and looks like season three as well is we’re dany becomes the character I like the most.
Friend Of fireQuote Reply
Lex,
What is funny is that minutes after he/she made that post news broke that the DVD/BR sales were setting records. I think the big problem is that some people who were dissatisfied by the changes from the books assume that there is a large portion of the audience who were as upset as they are. While all of us book readers would like them to stay as close to the books as possible, the percentage who actually are so upset that they don’t enjoy the show/aren’t as excited for the new season is not that high. Likewise, I think people overvalue the number of viewers who have read the books. I’d still bet that two thirds of the audience have not read ASOIAF.
Tyrion PimpslapQuote Reply
sean,
Indeed! It certainly helps that they have British accents, which is by and large the most accessible English accent one can have.
Matt ChungQuote Reply
Chibarin,
That ad is actually really obnoxious, especially for people who have no interest in the show and are trying to read the New York Times.
JamesLQuote Reply
Omar Brown,
You never know. I fully expect to enjoy the Ironborn more in the show than I did in the books. I hate Victarion in the books but I can see the character being great in the show, especially if they cast an actor like Ray Stevenson. And I’m sure they could improve Meereen by cutting out all of the Meereenese characters with their ridiculous names and creating new ones to replace them.
Tyrion PimpslapQuote Reply
Tyrion Pimpslap,
The show has created more book readers than the books ever could, I am one of them so I think book purist should be pleased that so many show viewers are reading or read the books and are or have been exposed to what is undeniably a brilliant set of books thanks hbo and your writers
Friend Of fireQuote Reply
Matt,
Aw man…!!! I’m from Botswana, and I’m probably the only one here…but atleast I’m with my fellow Africans…
SerKenjiGerrardQuote Reply
wolf dragon,
I’m more worried about there being a season of the show that falls under the stale stag-mire that was AFFC and the first half of ADWD. I personally hope they cut alot of that. We can’t have an entire season of;
Cersei mourning and being an idiot
Jaime hanging around King’s Landing
Brienne looking for Sansa and not finding her
Tyrion bumming aimlessly around Essos
Jon Snow arguing with Stannis
Daenerys listening to people complain in Meereen
etc etc
You seriously think fleshing that stuff out would be a good idea?
I think they could cut whole sections out (Brienne with those 2 hedgeknights)
And characters (Penny, that fat bloke Tyrion has to look after thats dying of the plague)
I think D&D have a good opportunity to do what GRRM’s editor should have done – cut some stuff out and get on with the good stuff! -
Drogon mayhem in the fighting pits
Ser Barristan leading the defense of Meereen
Victarion arriving in Meereen
The battle for Winterfell
Davos treating with the Manderlys
Jon Snow being betrayed!
Now that sounds more exciting to me!
QuowalaQuote Reply
This is a great post and I completely agree with it.
mariamb18Quote Reply
True blood hasn’t been good since season 3, boardwalk empire is a show where nothing happens.
I just hope game of thrones doesn’t slow down by the time we get to the fourth and fifth season.
The hounds pupQuote Reply
The hounds pup,
I do worry the show is going to slow when they get to the Feast for Crows stuff. Perhaps season 5 but season 4 is going to be insane!
Stannis smashing the wildlings at the Wall
Joffrey’s Wedding
Red Viper VS The Mountain
Tyrion killing Tywin and Shae
I think season 4 could be the best season of all.
Also, plenty happens on Boardwalk Empire. Not as much as Thrones, but its still a great show!
wrangler.Quote Reply
Quowala,
I think it is rather obvious that the 4 and fifth books since they happen at the same time will be combined for the show we certainly won’t have half the characters missing for a whole season
Friend Of fireQuote Reply
That’s a double act around which they could make an entire series!
IsabelleQuote Reply
Never understood why people see a problem with this. If you combine book 4 and 5 you have a lot of exciting things happening (Ramsay and Roose will make sure of that). And why do people find a problem with Brienne and her quest for Sansa. Martin seems (partially) to be doing a critique of the standard fantasy story. Her finding what she has been looking for that easily would actually disappoint me (I will never forgive her for killing good ol’ Shagwell though, unfortunately he will probably not be in the series, my lament for the Brave Companions continues).
BlaatQuote Reply
wolf dragon,
I didn’t mean that things could have been better. But they made a decision based on time/ money/ main storyline. Book 2 was in my opinion a very difficult book for adapting for a tv show, because it has a very long setup before anything really happen. for a book it’s very good for a show it slowing the show too much, and that way we would lose many fans. And they couldn’t have make the ending of this season the next season because that would stretch it too much. Don’t get me wrong, I personally think that it could have been better, but for some reasons it didn’t happen, probably because of money and structuring the storylines.
Thinks that i would have done different in season 2:
- More minutes per episode. Just like season 3.
- Jon / Danny more like the book. Jon would have the same amount of time as it had in season 2. Danny fewer.
- Arya I would have kept the Tywin part. But I would have loved if they kept the way the 3 people were killed. Weasle soup could have easily be the way they escaped. I would have kept the ending with Jaqen en kept Roose for next season.
- About theon/ Bran. the only thing that I missed was the attack on winterfell at the end of the season.
The thing that I missed in GOT season 2 that season 1 had more, is that every episode has a purpose, mostly for one or 2 characters. Most of the time in season 2 it was 1 or 2 scenes for every person.
But don’t forget that they couldn’t have stretch it too much because then we wouldn’t see some characters for half a season, that’s why book 2 only got one season.
Tyrion Pimpslap,
I would love to see Ray Stevenson as Victorion. He would be perfect for the show. And why should they cut things from danny’s chapters in DwD. Personally I think they are very suited for television.
Quowala,
Why would they skip a lot of that? Isn’t it better if they keep the story that AfFC told and DwD and making it better for a television show. Changing some dialogues, making some scenes more spectaculair.
And I think that season 4 will cover up a part of AfFC and DwD, So I think that in season 5, they will finish aFfC and the first half of DwD. You forget that Cercei is one of the most favorite GOT character so I don’t think people will hate her story in that season. And it’s strange that the things you hate about those 2 books, many people loved. Tyrion’s journey, Penny, Brienne’s story. And don’t forget that aSoIaF isn’t about very exciting things too read and show, it’s about the game and dialogues, and in every great story, not everything is as exciting.
kevinQuote Reply
Isabelle,
Yeah actually that would be pretty awesome.
Stannis sits brooding over his map.
Jon Snow enters to raucous live audience applause.
Stannis – “Laws should be made of iron, not porridge”.
Stannis is hit in the face with porridge. Howling laughter from the audience.
QuowalaQuote Reply
YouTube stops counting your repeat views after a certain number. They essentially block your IP from counting. I don’t know how many that is, though.
GeekFuriousQuote Reply
Does somebody know where you can find the schedule of hbo on demand game of thrones. I’m interesting in the promotion material time schedule.
Episode 3 titled: Walk of Punishment.
I’m very exciting about which character the title refers. My bet is on Jaime
kevinQuote Reply
kevin,
I think it is more likely that it is referring to the Unsullied or Theon.
Tyrion PimpslapQuote Reply
Tyrion Pimpslap,
How can I forget those two. Maybe all three. GRRM said that his title “chains” refers to multiple characters, so maybe this counts for this title too. But I think that Unsulied will be the most likely of the three, because of the walking part and I don’t see Theon walking pretty soon.
kevinQuote Reply
Quowala,
From Apple Martini, one of my favourite posters on the Westeros forums:
IsabelleQuote Reply
The lyrics to the song used in the trailer (Bones by MS MR) really has me thinking Lady Stoneheart will make an appearance at the end of this season.
Dig up her bones but leave her soul alone
…
Life slips away and the ghost come to play
AAQuote Reply
AA,
Could be the final shot of the season3. Like the whitewalkers last season
flameQuote Reply
Yep, I have long been predicting that her ‘appearance’ will be the final shot of season 3.
LarsQuote Reply
mags giantsbabe,
Yeah, I am. I knew about Aegon, it’s awesome seeing more people from SA here!
King DBCQuote Reply
Lars,
I sincerely hope this isn’t the case. Having her appear the very episode after she dies significantly takes away from the Red Wedding. I think it would be a cop out to have her that soon. Save it for next season and it will really be a shocker.
Tyrion PimpslapQuote Reply
First of all, it’s a little naive to suggest that The Sopranos wasn’t (or doesn’t continue to be) pirated. Second, I can’t speak to how it did internationally, but for those who weren’t in the US while it aired, it’s hard to explain just how big the show was from a cultural standpoint. With Game of Thrones, we’re happy that the show cracked 4 million viewers for its finale (the initial airing–I understand that the number goes up with all the people catching up later). Well, Season 4 of The Sopranos averaged 11 million viewers. 12 million tuned into the series finale, and you literally could not get away from discussions of the show over the next few days. I hadn’t quite caught up to the final season, but I still knew exactly what happened in the final scene. It was all over the cable news, and I even remember that the hosts of popular sports talk shows like The Jim Rome Show and Pardon…the Interruption took time out to discuss it. I don’t remember those same people talking about “Blackwater.”
It also won two Emmys for Outstanding Drama Series and should have won five. And it’s one of the three or so acceptable choices for the best drama ever (The Wire is one of the others, while Breaking Bad is poised to possibly pass both if its final eight episodes are as great as they should be). I think it’s hard to make the case that Game of Thrones is more popular. At least in this country. Worldwide? I don’t know.
What’s popular in the US is not necessarily what’s popular in the rest of the world. Professional soccer is the most popular sport in the world by a good margin, but it’s a virtual afterthought here, unless the World Cup is on. In fact, a recent poll of Americans’ favorite sports revealed that just one percent named soccer as their favorite. Here, we love pro football, but the rest of the world doesn’t share our passion. I do think that if Game of Thrones passed The Sopranos, worldwide or otherwise, HBO would probably say so. As much as I love Game of Thrones and as much as its popularity is increasing, I still think it’s a pretty far ways behind The Sopranos. But it’s only been two seasons so far. With time, maybe it will catch Tony and company.
JohnQuote Reply
John,
Game of Thrones is far far far more popular than breaking bad will ever be. Breaking bad isn’t even on TV in my country while a third channel aquired the rights to game of thrones at great cost without the exclusivity rights obviously.
I know only 2 people watching breaking bad illegally and they’re drawn to it because they’re ex-addicts and it’s a setting they’re really familiar with.
On the other hand, i’m not sure i have a single person in my entourage who doesn’t watch game of thrones (family, friends, colleagues,clients, boss), i may have played a part in that as i converted everyone i could but still.
I watched 2 full season of Breaking Bad before deciding that despite the rave reviews i find it boring and would better spend my time watching something else (even boardwalk empire which i also consider boring, but a little less).
GoT may not be as popular as Sopranos was in his prime, but it’s the only actual tv show that has clearly a shot at surpassing it (popularity-wise; quality-wise nothing will ever top the wire).
ASOIAF FanQuote Reply
Arkash,
Yeah but in some countries, like France, torrenting is under surveillance, and the Gov is fining a lot of people. But streaming and direct download isn’t watched, and since most of the time DDL is the same quality as streaming (except if you’re paying a premium account or willing to wait days to download your 1080p episode)… well, streaming is quite popular in France, and torrents are not (except for the geeks that know how to rent and configure a VPN in a foreign country).
KellQuote Reply
I doubt it… If they do it… then next season they’ll have to have her doing something. You can’t resuscitate her, and then make her appear again only season 5. So they’ll have to get some story from AFFC into season 4… the problem is that UnCat has not a lot of appearances in AFFC… so if you take from her there, you’ll have to invent things or take from otherplace… and then you start running straight into the Wall of GRRM UnWritten Sequels… So no. I don’t think you’ll see that before next season.
KellQuote Reply
Kell,
With what other event do you think they will end S3, if not with Cat’s resurrection?
Just a reminder: you have dragons’ birth and an army of undead to compete with.
(Oh, and there will be some AFFC in season 4, no matter what happens at the end of season 3)
zodQuote Reply
Kell,
You can’t seriously be worried about Hadopi, man.
http://www.paperblog.fr/1794005/comment-combattre-hadopi-pour-les-nuls/
AliceQuote Reply
13mill views now
xFire and BloodxQuote Reply
xFire and Bloodx,
you stole my comment man! ;)
the waifQuote Reply
if you tell me that this trailer has been made by the same guy that made last year’s ’7 devils’ I would have to say : ‘ is there an oscar for trailers? because this guy deserves it’
ph2586Quote Reply
ASOIAF Fan,
Yes, but he didn’t list Breaking Bad as a contender for most popular. It isn’t. Neither is The Wire. Those two shows just happen to be in the top 3 with The Sopranos, the only one of these top dramas that actually got the viewership and level of popular discussion to be considered, well, popular.
Now, the 11-12 million figures that Sopranos got are actually inflated because the ratings system at the time sort of lumped together multiple channels in a way that’s slightly nonsensical, but it’s still easily a safe bet that The Sopranos was averaging at least double the highest Game of Thrones has achieved thus far.
It also achieved far more penetration into society than Game of Thrones has, at least in the US. I was less than 10 years old when Sopranos premiered, I didn’t know what HBO was and even I knew what The Sopranos was. Like John, when the show finally ended I knew exactly how it ended despite never having even seen a single episode myself at that point because literally everyone was talking about it.
I think it’s fair to say that GoT has achieved faster and wider success in many places internationally than The Sopranos did, but in the US it’s not even close yet. If Game of Thrones continues its upward climb, it could eventually get there, but it has a long way to go yet.
Delta1212Quote Reply
I think the downside to this is that HBO has become a bit lazy with its overall promotion of the show because of its immense popularity. I think they are kinda piggy-backing on the anticipation of the GOT “books” fandom (and sites such as WIC) to keep the momentum going….
I say this because i think the overall promotion on HBO’s side was a bit lacking this year than previous years….
gisizzlahQuote Reply
zod,
If you want to know where it could end, you just have too look at the main characters and where you think their story will end this season:
- Arya: I think her journey will end after she sees the body of Cat lying in the water through the eyes of Nymeria. This is probably unlikely.
- Cat: Lady stoneheart. Probably not, this must be the end of next season. She has nothing to do in season 4 because the only important thing that she do, is killing freys and the part with Brienne, trying to stretch that over 2 seasons is a dumb decision and B&W are much smarter than that.
- Jon: This is probably ending with one of these 3 scenarios. Tormund/ Ygritte is preparing their attack. their Attack just finished or Mance rayder is ready to attack. The last one would be a perfect cliffhanger, but their probably just end with the death of Ygritte. So problably no ending with Jon this season.
- Bran/ Samwell: Meeting each other and Bran goes through the black gate. Can be pretty epic.
- Davos/ Stannis/ Sansa: I put these three together because it’s possible that the season will end with a discussion with Davos, Stannis and Mel. Where Mel makes clear that 2 false kings are death and that the last one is just a moment away. Then a shot Sansa putting on the hairnet or a shot of Joffrey. This would be wonderfull ending because: Revenge is coming.
- Danny: Mysha Mysha Mysha. It would be a wonderfull ending but I personally have on problem with it. That it will end with Danny again.
- Jaime/ Brienne: Probably ending with the bearpit or on the way toward KL, seems very unlikely that it will end with one of them.
- Tyrion: The beginning of PW. Not the wedding itself but maybe some preparations. The gifts for instance can be in season 3.
For the people that think that season 3 must end with lady stoneheart. Explain to me where season 4 needs to end (Probably finishing SoS and beginning of FfC and DwD) and where season 5 need to end. (probably finishing almost fFC and the first half of DwD) and where does season 6 need to end. (probably beginning of WoW)
I personally think that season 3 will end with the stannis/sansa scenario. Season 4 with Lady Stoneheart. Season 5 with the capture of Cercei or Samwell meeting Jaqen or with Doran explaing to Arianne that the war is coming with fire and blood or something with Danny. Season 6 will end with Varys killing Pycelle and Kevan.
kevinQuote Reply
Delta1212,
I should have pondered my comment by saying that i was mostly speaking from my point of view (popularity of US tv shows in Europe).
And i know that John brought Breaking bad when talking about quality but he ended by saying that it could grow to equal or surpass the sopranos, which in his first paragraph he only talked about associated with popularity so it was, voluntarly or not, misleading.
And i can’t consider Breaking Bad to be in the pantheon of tv shows quality wise, i can see it for Mad Men which i did also quit after 2 seasons because i also find it boring but not for BB.
I wasn’t following Sopranos when it aired ( don’t even know if it ever aired in my country, we’re not much fan of anything in an american setting) so i may have missed the references but i don’t remember newspapers using the show in their titles as they’re doing with GoT as in “a middle-east game of thrones” etc…
Don’t forget that the sopranos is in the “established” genre to become popular in the US (Cops/Mob, laws, medical or politics) while game of thrones is the polar opposite ( Fantasy??? Mehhh). For mainstrem media to embrace it so vividly it means its popularity had already been obtained from the public and they’re just following along to keep credibility, wereas in the sopranos case, all the industry was going to push it forward anyway because it’s the genre of the “in” people.
I hope i expressed myself clearly enough, not much time for proofreading as i’m posting from work.
ASOIAF FanQuote Reply
One would have to stop watching the program if it passes what GRRM has published. It would be ironic for the show to be a spoiler for the books rather than book readers spoiling show watchers.
Currer BellQuote Reply
is there a longer trailer coming out?
flameQuote Reply
kevin,
Season 3 will end with a scene in which Lady Stoneheart wake up
flameQuote Reply
Ironic indeed. It would be awful if this happened, but I must admit it would be great to see those asshole book readers that loved to spoil the show for the non-readers to be the ones being spoiled now, by the non-readers. Payback is a bitch =D
NezzerQuote Reply
flame,
Trust me, this won’t happen. B&W are much smarter than to make such big mistake as to bring her back that soon. If they do that the only thing they will succeed is that people will get more disappointed in season 4, where she will not have a single scene. She only have 2 important scenes in the next two seasons. the scene where we first see lady Stoneheart and a scene with Brienne, the last one is at the end of season 5. So why would they wait 2 whole seasons (and probably 20 episodes) to bring her back than? I think bringing her back this season will be the most stupidest thing they could do. So just wait till season 3 end and you will see that lady Stoneheart isn’t in season 3, but season 4. (Last year I guessed that it will and with the whitewalkers and this year I think it will end with a debate with Stannis and Mel and that the viewers will know, we have to come back next season because Joffrey is going to die. And else it will end with Jon Snow. But bringing back Lady Stoneheart, that’s something they will do in season 4. so her coming back will have meaning.
kevinQuote Reply
ASOIAF Fan,
The thing about Sopranos that’s harder to notice now because almost every television show does it now is that nobody made the protagonist a villain or even especially dark character. Film had a little more leeway in this area, but on television the protagonist was pretty much always a good guy.
Tony Soprano was a murderer and a sociopath, if not outright psychopath, who did horrible things on screen and not only got away with it but managed to get a hefty portion of the audience to root for him to get away with it. Popular fantasy shows might be hard to come by, but absolutely nobody did that and had a successful show on their hands.
You can pretty much trace the popularity of the dark anti-hero on television straight to Tony Soprano.
And yes, the regular media did make plenty of Sopranos references. Game of Thrones got a bit lucky in that there is a specific branch of news right now that lends itself very well to that title and in that it’s name is very easy to pun (which pretty much counts for more than anything else as far as headline writers are concerned), but The Sopranos had its fair share of references and the media talked more about the show than they do about Game of Thrones (which frankly isn’t a hell of a lot in either case outside of direct entertainment circles, though certainly more than most shows get).
I have more fun watching Game of Thrones, but I also know that it hasn’t quite matured into the cultural phenomenon that The Sopranos was yet, at least not here. It’s certainly a phenomenon, but they’re still at different levels.
Delta1212Quote Reply
kevin,
Wow. You and I are in agreement with season 3 ending with a conversation between Stannis,Mel, and Davos. I envision Davos telling Mel that only 2 kings are dead and her visions were wrong. Mel then gives Davos a wry smile as the screen fades to black. I don’t think every season has to end with a fantasy cliffhanger. Mark my words, if D&D have the stones to save the reveal of Stoneheart till the end of season 4 it will be one of the biggest ‘OMG’ moments in the entire series.
Tyrion PimpslapQuote Reply
up to 13.3 million views now on youtube.
I really hope they save Lady Stoneheart until Season 4.
NewJeffCTQuote Reply
Agreed. It needs to wait until ASoS “ends” in season 4. Then pick up with early AFfC/ADwD stuff.
ebevan91Quote Reply
ebevan91,
It should be the finale cliffhanger in season 4.
Tyrion PimpslapQuote Reply
Personally, I think it would work better for the show if season 3 ended with Lady Stoneheart, but depending on how they actually spin season 3 and 4, it might come out better in season 4, I don’t know, and I don’t think anyone can say definitively which works better at this point. I just think that by the time season 4 rolls around there will be other considerations and priorities for the characters and audience, and suddenly re-introducing Catelyn as an undead zombie psychopath would be a little bit out of left field at that point in the story and wouldn’t work as well if that scene ended season 3, where everything is still fresh.
As for ending season 4: Well, season 4 could end with Bran meeting Bloodraven, the three-eyed crow, fungally skeleton man growing out of some tree roots underground surrounded by weird elf-things. That would be an excellent supernatural ending point if you ask me. Although it would be an accelerated arc for Bran in terms of the books, I think it’s pretty clear that the show maker writer developer dudes are going to be changing a lot of things around from the books as these new seasons go forward, in order to tell a full story for television.
dogsQuote Reply
dogs,
The RW is in episode 9. To resurrect Catelyn exactly one episode after she dies would take away from the RW. That event should make the audience hurt and it should linger. Stoneheart isn’t revealed until the epilogue of the third book. Placing the reveal in the finale of S3 would be severely rushing it.
Tyrion PimpslapQuote Reply
Tyrion Pimpslap,
It could work, if they show that Lady Stoneheart comes back as a monster psychopath zombie, not just regular ol’ cheery family-loving Catelyn just back from the dead, then I could see it not taking away from the red wedding. It just depends on how they portray it. I could equally see Catelyn being revealed at the end of season 4 not working as much as Catelyn being revealed in season 3 not working, since the period of time between when she dies and when she is revealed to be alive in the book is much shorter (relatively speaking) than a whole season of television. Having her end season 4 may come out as almost tangential, since there’s nothing that builds up to that moment in that season, and the show is based on seasonal arcs instead of strict book arcs. Just my two cents though!
dogsQuote Reply
dogs,
Well.. I guess I don’t have to defend my point anymore, since this is my exact thought on the matter. ;)
zodQuote Reply
kevin,
Have you heard of guest starring? Michelle Fairley can do that in one or two ep in S4. (like Jason Momoa in S2)
But imagine this: They show the resurection in S3 finale, creating momentum for it, intercuting with some Arya and the Hond scenes. Yes, is soon after RW, but it does not take the effect. There is whole week between episodes, a whole week of desperation for the Starks. Yet they will show her (in the tradition of GoT shocking finales), is kinda ‘hope is not lost’. Yet with havy make-up, yellowish contacts or something and special effects, they can show for a second that Catelyn is not her anymore. She must be terrifing to look upon!
Plus it helps to end Beric’s arc. They can not let him dissappear, and then reveal that, yeah he’s dead.
Lady Stoneheart doesn’t need to appear! It’s like Mance momentum they did in past seasons, everyone talks about her and the brotherhood. But this time people will know or guess who that Lady Stoneheart is, and will quite enjoy the fact that there is something that they know, and the characters within story don’t. At least I do!
EDIT: Plus, let me ask you… How on earth could they miss the chance not to film such an event? Beric giving the kiss of life… It’s just to epic not to show it!
AdrianAegonQuote Reply
I’m also betting on Lady Stoneheart for the last scene in Season 3. Yes, they may have to write a few scenes not in the book for S4 to give the character more material, but it’s not that much of a stretch. Then again, I’ve been wrong more of the time than right predicting what the show will do.
bgapQuote Reply
Tyrion Pimpslap,
I first though that it would probably end with Mance standing before the wall, but then I thought, that looks a lot like the ending of season 2. So I started thinking and though maybe something with the 3 deaths because that’s what season 3 is all about in the end. Letting the audience know that justice will come soon.
And I wondering why people think that she will return in season 3. How will they get the shocking moment? It’s not CSI, it’s game of thrones that doesn’t reveal something that soon. Wouldn’t it be better if they have disappearing Freys in season 4 and asking people who kill them, and then have the epilogue way of explaining that this is Lady Stonehearts work.
AdrianAegon,
Explain to me what will she do in season 4? And how can the timeline be right if they do it in the final of season 3? Cat need to be dead a couple of days. the final will probably cover 1 day.
And why do they need to have a “hope is not lost” cliffhanger? Did they do that in season 1, that’s not GOT. And it will definitely take away the shock moment of her death and resurrection. I watch over 20 television shows and I have seen many people resurrecting from death. The only time this worked was when there was more than 3 episode between or it was the final en the premiere of 2 seasons. Look at season 2 with Bran, one episode later he was alive, people were disappointed that it was that soon.
And about not letting Cat be in any episodes just like Mance. Cat is one of the favorite character for non-book readers. That’s why she is almost in every episode. Letting her live and have her not in one episode the season after is not very smart move. And it something you must never do as a show, show somebody is alive in the cliff and not showing her or him in the next season. Best thing they can do is just let her be death, let the audience feel how it feels to have a season without cat. That way it doesn’t matter that she just have one scene in season 5.
and about not showing the scene, there a lot of epic scenes in the book that they didn’t show and just tell later, because it works better.
Don’t forget that D&W already said multiple times that they wanted to avoid that the show is going to be to much fantasy too soon, that they will leave things out (like too many prophecies) and changing stuff so that it will have a lesser fantasy feeling. Season 3 already have much fantasy in it, I think they want to avoid having a overload of fantasy. Especially that season 4 has very little.
I’m not saying that it will not be in season 3, I only say that it will be a big mistake. People are going to complain that Cat isn’t in more than 5 episodes in season 4. they going to complain that too soon many people are rising from the death. Isn’t it better if you know at the end of season 3 that the brotherhood has Catelyn’s body, but that you think as an audience that it’s because they wanted to bury her? And at the end of next season you really know what happened? But it’s just waiting what will happen. But than people who think this season ends with lady stoneheart. Think in the big picture. What event of SoS can be the cliffhanger of season 4? (Or beginning of FfC or DwD).
kevinQuote Reply
kevin,
Ok, first q: What she will do in S4? Nothing. People will talk about her. Picture this: Varys informing the Small Council that the BWB is causing trouble for their Frey allies, and is now led by a certain woman, people call Lady Stoneheart. Tywin will dismiss the topic, of course.
She might have one or two guest appearences in S4, whether is on the finale, I don’t know.
Ok, “hope is not lost” is cheesy, but three Starks are dead, the rest are scatered, and all Lannisters rule. People will get frustrated by this. They need to balance things again, and this is the best way.
About reducing the effect of the RW, well 2 years later and I’m not over Ned’s death. How can I be over Robb’s in one week? No, he is still dead. Cat may be resurected, but the King in the North is still dead. The pain lingers.
OMG, how can you say that about Bran? I felt relief, and so everyone who I know and watches the show. It’s just a kid. And how could have they delayed the information that he is alive? Imposibile. The whole next episode revolved around his fall.
Anyways, Cat in S4 can be the woman behind the curtain, enacting revenge upon the Freys. It will be like S2, when Tywin talked about BWB, but people didn’t knew what he is talking about, and that was upseting. Now they will know, and will guess who Lady Stoneheart is! And that will be … excelent!
About D&D, well by now, entering S3, with huge global popularity, and with a lot of fantasy in it, how a bit more could spoil that? There are dragons, weights, White Walkers, one undead being couldn’t hurt :))
Finally, about S4′s ending… well I always thought that the Revelation at the Eyrie is quite a finale, plus is a perfect conclusion to the first 3 books (4 seasons). It started with Jon Arryn, it ends with Jon Arryn!
AdrianAegonQuote Reply
AdrianAegon, please spoiler your posts. I’ve had to go in and add them for you multiple times. All you have to do is highlight each paragraph and click the ‘spoiler’ button. Thanks!
Winter Is ComingQuote Reply
14.9 million views now. This is frakking incredible!
kanjisheikQuote Reply
AdrianAegon,
About Bran, I mean that in the books you waited 1/3 of the book to know he lived. And yes I was relieved he lived, but in the show it was too early in my eyes. If they waited till the final, they could have a mourning Cat that I missed.
If they know after one scene about lady Stoneheart that she’s that woman, isn’t that a shame? Wouldn’t it be better if you first hear whispers and after couple episode you know that it’s Cat?
And you think that an ending with they Eyrie in season 4 is better, than an ending in season 3 that people will know that even if Cat and Robb is death, that Joffrey will die soon. I mean as a reader i knew after the scene with Stannis that Balon, Robb and Joffrey will die soon, so non-book people can prepare themselves too.
But we have too wait. Everything is possible. I only hope that un-cat will be in season 4 for a bigger impact. Just like with the death of Locke in LOST where we had to wait 8 episodes too know he lived (I know wasn’t him really).
kevinQuote Reply
With the rate the views on the video are still going up, anyone else worried that its just someones bot?
JoeQuote Reply
Joe,
?
It is super popular series anyway and as you know, popularity breeds popularity. When you go up certain thresholds in view numbers, the climb goes to crazy high levels. Not to mention GOT fans with serious withdrawal symptoms watching the trailer again and again and again….
YoutubedwellerQuote Reply