--- description: Game of Thrones has officially become more popular than The Sopranos, HBO confirmed. title: Game of Thrones Slays Sopranos to Become Most-Watched HBO Series image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [TV](/tag/tv/) ## TV Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Game of Thrones_ Slays _Sopranos_ to Become Most-Watched HBO Series Ever  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 6, 2014 12:11 PM CUT  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 6, 2014 12:11 PM CUT Enthusiasts of HBO’s _Game of Thrones_ can finally point to at least one clear winner in the hair-raising, political-fantasy-drama: the show itself. _Game of Thrones_ is officially the most-watched HBO series of all time, HBO [confirmed](http://hbowatch.com/game-of-thrones-supplants-the-sopranos-as-hbos-most-watched-series/ "undefined") Thursday. With an average gross audience of 18.4 million viewers, the realm of Westeros has ruthlessly slain the suburban New Jersey gangland world of _The_ _Sopranos_, which previously held the record with an average gross audience of 18.2 million in its peak 2002 season. A number of factors—in addition, of course, to the pure and unadulterated awesomeness of _Game of Thrones_—have contributed to Westeros’ victory over a show based in the realm of men. The popularity of DVR has made watching the show easier, likely boosting ratings, and other methods of catching the show, particularly the streaming service HBO Go (which no one breaks the rules to get access to—cross our hearts), have given people options unavailable when Tony Soprano was holding court at Satriale’s Pork Store and Meat Market. Two episodes remain in the _Thrones_ fourth season so this year’s average gross viewership for the show may yet increase a bit more. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2837360/game-thrones-sopranos-hbo/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2837360/game-thrones-sopranos-hbo/"},"headline":"Game of Thrones Slays Sopranos to Become Most-Watched HBO Series Ever","datePublished":"2014-06-06T12:11:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:15:39.318Z","description":"The former record set by the mod family drama in 2002 sleeps with the fishes","url":"https://time.com/2837360/game-thrones-sopranos-hbo/","keywords":["TV","HBO","game of thrones","Ratings"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Denver Nicks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/tv/","name":"TV"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2837360/game-thrones-sopranos-hbo/","name":"Game of Thrones Slays Sopranos to Become Most-Watched HBO Series Ever"}}]}] ```