The season seven finale of American fantasy television series, Game of Thrones, was watched by a total of 16.5 million viewers.
The live broadcast alone, which was aired on Sunday night, was seen by 12.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched episode in series history.
According to Nielsen data, the figure was a series record in ratings.
The total viewership figure includes those who viewed the episode as it aired or on the same night on HBO Go or HBO Now.
The 12.1 million viewers who tuned in on television represent a 36% increase from season six finale, which was watched by 8.9 million viewers.
According to HBO, Sunday night’s record audience is 13% more than the previous episode which was released two weeks earlier.
The first episode of season seven had also set a premiere record with 10.1 million viewers tuning in.
Game of Thrones, based on ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ by George R.R. Martin, is perhaps the most successful series on American television.
Its popularity hasn’t come without plenty downsides.
Hackers had recently demanded a ransom of $7.5 million from HBO to stop leaking stolen episodes of the show.
In a ransom note, the hackers had urged HBO to pay the ransom or have sensitive company data posted online.
A similar situation had occurred in previous seasons of Game of Thrones.
