The final season of Game of Thrones opened to record ratings as millions of viewers tuned in to the first episode, according to HBO.
After a two year wait since season seven ended, 17.4 million people in the US watched Sunday’s episode either on TV or online.
The episode topped the 16.1 million people who saw the seventh-season premiere and the 16.9 million who watched it’s finale.
The network said it had the "largest night of streaming activity ever for HBO.”
The initial figures are set to climb in the coming days as people catch up using on demand services.
HBO saw about a 50 percent increase in online viewing compared to last season's finale.
In comparison to the season-seven premiere, the streaming audience nearly doubled.
The hyped fantasy series ultimately averaged 32.8 million viewers per episode last season in cumulative TV and online viewership, HBO said.
Game of Thrones season eight episode one is currently available to stream on NOW TV.
