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What Is Happening on Game of Thrones (In-App that Is)

Written by Amberly Dressler | Jan 16, 2023 6:00:00 AM
The season finale of the seventh season of Game of Thrones is this Sunday and if you're like other fans, you'll turn white walker on anyone who interrupts the episode (or be more calculated like Cersei). This is especially true of calls or texts during the time slot because many people are actually viewing the episodes from their phones.

App Annie
released some pretty interesting information to Website Magazine regarding HBO NOW, the network's app. Get this:
  • App Annie predicts that over the course of season* 7 of Game of Thrones, Americans will spend well over 10 million hours in HBO NOW and HBO GO on Android phone. (*Season 6 and 7 are defined as the premiere date plus one week after the air date of the finale.)
  • HBO NOW is ranked #1 for daily Google Play and iOS revenue in applications in the U.S. on Aug. 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20, surpassing Pandora and Netflix who typically hold the top two spots.
  • HBO NOW previously hit #1 by overall revenue in the U.S. on iPhone on July 16, the day of the Game of Thrones season 7 premiere. 

"Americans are streaming content on their smartphones now more than ever, as shown by the 45 percent increase in time spent using HBO's apps on Game of Thrones Sundays this season compared to last season," said Amir Ghodrati, director of market insights at App Annie, an app market data and insights company. "HBO is seeing firsthand the value of mobile video accessibility, but they are not the only brand catching on. The new approach by major news outlets like NBC and CNN to produce shows on Snapchat is another strong example of how mobile video initiatives are coming to fruition in many form factors."

Whatever happens on Sunday will likely break some viewers' hearts but HBO seems to have its app strategy down so viewers don't break the Internet too.