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    “House of the Dragon” is HBO’s top series premiere ever; Nielsen week in review

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1113 Views
    This image released by HBO Max shows Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen in a scene from "House of the Dragon," a prequel to "Game of Thrones." (HBO Max via AP)

    By David Bauder, Media Writer

    NEW YORK (AP) --

    Nearly 10 million people saw the premiere of "House of the Dragon" on Sunday night, making the "Game of Thrones" spinoff HBO's most-watched series premiere in the network's history.

    HBO aired the episode four times on premiere night and it was also streamed on HBO Max. The viewership number is only going to increase in the coming weeks.

    For instance, the "Game of Throne" series finale in May 2019 was seen on its first night by 19.8 million, more than any other series episode on HBO, the Nielsen company said. HBO estimates that some 46 million people in total have seen it, when delayed viewing is taken into account.

    Anticipation for "House of the Dragon" was evident in how many people were streaming old "Game of Thrones" episodes on HBO Max, which the network fed by offering crisper picture quality. The weekly average of streams in August is nearly 90% above June, the network said.

    "The 'Game of Thrones' prequel recaptured the fire of HBO's original masterpiece in a big way," said Ashwin Navin, co-founder and CEO of the research firm Samba TV. That company estimated that the HBO series more than doubled the first-day viewership for Netflix's new season of "Stranger Things" this summer.

    The challenge — and opportunity — for HBO lies in trying to expand "House of the Dragon" beyond the built-in fan base, Navin said.

    CBS was the most popular broadcast network in prime time last week, averaging 2.8 million viewers. NBC had 2.7 million, ABC had 2.4 million, Fox had 1.9 million, Ion Television had 1.04 million, Univision had 1.01 million and Telemundo had 810,000.

    Fox News Channel led the cable networks with a prime-time average of 2.31 million. MSNBC had 1.32 million, ESPN had 896,000, Hallmark had 870,000 and HGTV had 866,000.

    ABC's "World News Tonight" won the evening news ratings race, averaging 7.2 million viewers last week. NBC's "Nightly News" had 6.1 million and the "CBS Evening News" had 4.2 million.

    For the week of Aug. 15-22, the 20 most popular prime-time programs, their networks and viewerships:

    1. "America's Got Talent" (Tuesday), NBC, 6.44 million.
    2. "America's Got Talent" (Wednesday), NBC, 5.64 million.
    3. "60 Minutes," CBS, 5.44 million.
    4. "Celebrity Family Feud," ABC, 4.54 million.
    5. "Password" (Wednesday), NBC, 4.36 million.
    6. "The $100,000 Pyramid," ABC, 4.1 million.
    7. "Big Brother" (Wednesday), CBS, 4.06 million.
    8. "America's Funniest Home Videos," ABC, 3.98 million.
    9. "Password" (Tuesday), NBC, 3.97 million.
    10. "Big Brother" (Sunday), CBS, 3.95 million.
    11. "FBI," CBS, 3.57 million.
    12. "Tucker Carlson Tonight" (Monday), Fox News, 3.432 million.
    13. "Press Your Luck," ABC, 3.425 million.
    14. "Big Brother" (Thursday), CBS, 3.42 million.
    15. "Tucker Carlson Tonight" (Wednesday), Fox News, 3.38 million.
    16. "The Bachelorette," ABC, 3.294 million.
    17. "Tucker Carlson Tonight" (Tuesday), Fox News, 3.294 million.
    18. "Young Sheldon," CBS, 3.258 million.
    19. "Celebrity Wheel of Fortune," ABC, 3.258 million.
    20. "FBI International," CBS, 3.245 million.

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    Tags:HBOHBO MaxHouse of the DragonNielsen



    EU accuses TikTok of “addictive design” that harms children, seeks changes to protect users

    Friday, February 6, 2026
    The icon for the TikTok video sharing app is seen on a smartphone in Marple Township, Pa., Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

    The European Union on Friday accused TikTok of breaching the bloc's digital rules with "addictive design" features that lead to compulsive use by children, in preliminary charges that strike at the heart of the popular video sharing app's operating model.

    EU regulators said their two-year investigation found that TikTok hasn't done enough to assess how features such as autoplay and infinite scroll could harm the physical and mental health of users, including minors and "vulnerable adults."

    The European Commission said it believes TikTok should change the "basic design" of its service. The commission is the EU's executive arm and enforcer of the 27-nation bloc's Digital Services Act, a sweeping rulebook that requires social media companies to clean up their platforms and protect users, under threat of hefty fines.

    TikTok denied the accusations.

    "The Commission's preliminary findings present a categorically false and entirely meritless depiction of our platform, and we will take whatever steps are necessary to challenge these findings through every means available to us," the company said in a statement.

    TikTok's features including infinite scrolling, autoplay, push notifications, and highly personalized recommender systems "lead to the compulsive use of the app, especially for our kids, and this poses major risks to their mental health and wellbeing," Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier said at a press briefing in Brussels.

    "The measures that TikTok has in place are simply not enough," he said.

    The company now has a chance to defend itself and reply to the commission's findings. Regnier said "if they don't do this properly," Brussels could issue a so-called non-compliance decision and possible fine worth up to 6% of... Read More

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