'House of the Dragon' ratings boost as 'Rings of Power' nears

MANILA, Philippines — As "House of the Dragon" debuted to nearly 10 million US viewers last weekend, HBO appears to have claimed first blood in its much-hyped TV fantasy epic showdown with Amazon's upcoming "Lord of the Rings" prequel.

Set in the same Medieval-inspired Westeros world as smash hit "Game of Thrones," "House of the Dragon," which launched Sunday, is a crucially important series for the premium cable network and its streaming platform HBO Max.

HBO is banking on its prequel matching the wild popularity of the original "Thrones," which over eight seasons became appointment viewing, spawned countless imitations and delivered 59 Emmys — a record for a drama at television's equivalent of the Oscars.

A press release on Monday hailed 9.986 million viewers as "the largest audience for any new original series in the history of HBO" — although some analysts noted that "new original" might be pushing a definition for a spin-off, and that its parent title drew a whopping 17.4 million to the debut of its final season.

Still, the figure represents a success for newly merged Warner Bros Discovery, which is under intense scrutiny as it tries to navigate its place in a rapidly changing entertainment landscape dominated by the so-called "streaming wars."

On September 2, fierce competition will arrive in the form of "The Rings of Power," another swords-and-dragons-themed epic of the small screen, this time taking place in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth, and created by retail giant Amazon's own streaming platform Prime Video.

Said to be a passion project for Amazon's uber-wealthy founder Jeff Bezos, "The Rings of Power" has been commissioned for five seasons, and has been dubbed the most expensive show ever made.

Its overall budget of around $1 billion dwarfs the $150 million spent so far on "House of the Dragon," though HBO has several other glossy Westeros-set prequels, sequels and spin-offs in the works.  

The "House of the Dragon" follows the rise and fall of the Targaryen legacy, set 172 years before the death of the Mad King and the birth of Daenerys Targaryen. The first episode, recently shown in an exclsuive screening in Manila, revolves around the succession of the throne from the reigning Targaryen King Viserys. The first episode is now streaming since Aug 22 via HBO Go. 

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