‘Game of Thrones’ Slays Competition in Weekly Cable Ratings Race

HBO’s June 16Game of Thronesepisode drew the biggest audience for a scripted show on cable this summer with more than 10 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

The 10.1 million viewers tuning into the seventh season premiere episode of the fantasy series bested the 8.1 million viewers for ESPN's July 11 Home Run Derby coverage in topping all cable shows for the week of July 10-July 16, according to Nielsen.

TheGame of Thronesepisode was up 27% from 7.9 million viewers that tuned into last season’sGame of Thronesdebut in April 2016, according to HBO. The episode also reached a gross audience of 16.1 million viewers (Linear Plays + Same Day DVR Playback + HBOGO/HBO NOW), representing a 50% increase from last year’s premiere.

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R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.