HBO to Simulcast Entire Fifth Season Timed with US Airing

Television truly has gone global. HBO is taking an unprecedented step today in finding a way around spoilers that come with trying to air around the world where there are many different time zones. They announced today that Game of Thrones will air as a simulcast in 170 countries times to the 9pm airing of the show on the East coast. (That would be Eastern Standard Time.)

This isn’t the first time HBO has attempted a simulcast. Last season, the premiere episode of Game of Thrones aired at 2am in the UK, timed to the 9pm EST showing in the US, and was a massive success. But that was only the opening episode. After that it aired at their regular time, 9pm on the Monday following the Sunday night US airing. This time, HBO is airing the entire season on simulcast.

There’s one small detail the announcement left out. Does that mean Game of Thrones now airs on the West Coast at 6pm? (Before the Parental Council gets around to saying so, yes, 6pm would be when young children are still awake.) Or will our poor Californian friends have to wait to watch the show three hours later than the entire world?

The press release, including one other interesting detail, is below.

Game of Thrones® Premieres in Over 170 Countries Simultaneously

 Entire Fifth Season of HBO’s Worldwide Phenomenon to be Simulcast

Across the Globe Timed with Airing on HBO U.S.

New York, N.Y., March 10, 2015 – In an unprecedented move, Game of Thrones® will premiere in over 170 countries and territories across the globe simultaneously with HBO’s U.S. airing on Sunday, April 12 at 9:00pm ET, it was announced today by HBO.  The entire fifth season of the Emmy®-, Golden Globe®- and Peabody®-winning series will be simulcast to HBO branded networks and broadcast partners across the world, creating a global television event week after week throughout the season’s 10-episode run.

“We are thrilled to see our international partners jumping on board to bring Game of Thrones, one of the most universally loved television shows in the world, to global audiences at the same time it airs on HBO in the U.S.,” said Michael Lombardo, President, HBO Programming. “It’s going to be a great season.”

Among those participating are the HBO branded networks: HBO Asia, HBO Canada, HBO Europe, HBO Latin America, HBO Netherlands and HBO Nordic.

Also included are international “Home of HBO” services including: Africa/M-Net, Australia/Foxtel, Belgium(Flemish)/Telenet, France/Orange, Iceland/365 Media, Israel/DBS, Sky Deutschland, Sky Italia and SKY New Zealand.  HBO licensing partners in the simulcast include: Belgium(French)/Betv, Greece/Intervision, Russia/Amedia and Spain/DTS.

There’s one name missing from this list–the big one, who simulcast the premiere last season, Sky Atlantic in the UK. No word if there’s some sort of hold up and they’ll be adding themselves to this list soon, or if because they did their own thing last year, they opted out of this in order to continue on their own path. It would be a real shame if the UK doesn’t find their way clear to participate, considering how many of their home grown actors star in the show.

• Published on 03/10/2015 at 11:30 AM CDT
• Last updated on 10/21/2016 at 1:06 PM CDT