Game of Thrones’ ratings tumble with “The Gift”

Game of Thrones hit another season low this past Sunday, as “The Gift” was watched live by around 5.40 million people, netting it a 2.5 rating among adults 18-49. By themselves, those numbers are impressive, but lose their luster when put in context. Nearly a million fewer people watched the episode than watched “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken,” and while “The Gift” pulled in better ratings than all but one episode from the first three seasons of the show (Season 3’s “The Climb” edged it out), it was beat out by every episode from Season 4. This was also the first time this season that Game of Thrones wasn’t the most-watched cable show of the night—it was beat out by the NBA Playoffs on TNT.

One might be tempted to chalk this dip up to the ongoing controversy over “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken”—after all, several viewers pledged to stop watching the show after viewing the final scene of that episode. That probably contributed, but the more likely explanation is that people were too distracted by traveling, barbeques, and making nice with their weird cousins over the long Memorial Day weekend to bother watching the show live. In seasons 3 and 4, HBO refrained from showing an episode over the holiday weekend, a strategy that seemed to pay off—the last time it aired an episode in this spot (Season 2’s “Blackwater”), ratings took a hit. For a variety of reasons, the network decided to push through this year, with fairly predictable results.

We’re heading into the home stretch of the season, and it’ll be interesting to see whether the numbers for the final three episodes will help right a comparatively erratic year for the show as far as ratings are concerned. Considering how dependably Game of Thrones steps on the gas as it barrels toward its finales, odds are good that we’ll be seeing an uptick soon.

• Published on 05/27/2015 at 1:20 PM CDT
• Last updated on 05/27/2015 at 1:21 PM CDT