Game of Thrones' Battle of Winterfell Hits Viewership Record
Paul Dailly at .The Battle of Winterfell is over, but did it translate to series highs for Game of Thrones?
Sunday's cable ratings have just been released, and Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 3 scared up 12.02 million total viewers and a 5.3 rating in adults 18-49.
This is just shy of the record numbers Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 6 -- the Season 7 finale -- pulled in back in 2017.
That episode had 12.07 million total viewers and a stronger 5.7 rating in the demo. That being said, these numbers only include linear viewing on HBO for Sunday's episode.
HBO recently noted that online viewing was up considerably on the likes of HBO GO and HBO NOW this season, so it's possible that when all is said and done, we could be looking at a record for the episode.
Related: Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 3 Review: Not Today
The episode focused on the long-awaited battle between the living and the dead at Winterfell, and received a mixed response from viewers.
Some struggled to watch the episode because the majority of the episode took place in the dead of night.
With three episodes left, there's no telling whether the show will be able to fly higher as people who watch in delayed viewing will want to watch live to avoid spoilers.
Additionally, the rest of the episodes will flirt around the 80-minute mark.
UPDATE: HBO has now revealed the show amassed 17.8 million total viewers with delayed viewing factored in, hitting a record high.
What are your thoughts on the ratings?
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Remember you can watch Game of Thrones online right here via TV Fanatic.
Game of Thrones airs Sundays at 9/8c.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.