The record-breaking audience figure includes live audiences for the 2am simulcast and 9pm broadcast on 15 June, as well as customers watching their Sky+ recordings and catching up on demand over the next seven days. More fans than ever before enjoyed the flexibility of watching the world’s most talked about TV show when and where they wanted.  When figures for the streaming services Sky Go and NOW TV are taken into account, the total audience will be even higher.

The dramatic finale, which devastated and delighted fans in equal measure, was exclusive to Sky and online streaming service NOW TV customers and surpassed the series’ opening episode, which averaged 2.7 million viewers for the 9pm broadcast.  

Overall, audiences for the latest series of Game of Thrones were up 42% on the prior series. Together with continued success of Sky original drama including Fortitude and Penny Dreadful, the success of the epic fantasy has helped Sky Atlantic increase its share of viewing in Sky homes by 20% year on year.

Anticipation ahead of the premiere of Game of Thrones S5 also contributed to a record-breaking 23 million Sky Box Sets downloads across the 40 episodes of seasons 1-4 from 1 March through 31 May 2015.

Sky’s Managing Director of Content Gary Davey commented: “We know our customers love being able to choose how, where and when they watch their favourite show – whether that’s staying up until 2am for the global simulcast or re-watching every episode from the very beginning – and we’re thrilled to offer them that flexibility. Re-defining the meaning of ‘must-see TV’, we’re proud to be a part of the Game of Thrones phenomenon. In the aftermath of a record-breaking end to the fifth season on Sky, we can’t wait to see what will happen next.”

For further information, please contact:

Megan MacLeod

Megan.macleod@sky.uk

07584580014

About Sky

Sky is Europe's leading entertainment company. The group serves 21 million customers across five countries: Italy, Germany, Austria, the UK and Ireland. We offer the best and broadest range of content, deliver market-leading customer service and use innovative new technology to give customers a better TV experience, whenever and wherever they choose.

Sky has annual revenues of over £11 billion and is Europe's leading investor in television content with a combined programming budget of over £4.6 billion. The company employs 31,000 people and is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SKY).

For more information visit sky.com/corporate.

About NOW TV:

NOW TV is the online TV streaming service that offers no contract access to the best in movies, sports and entertainment so you can dip in and dip out. The service is available with a NOW TV Box, on the web via a PC or Mac or using an app on a range of over 60 devices. 

Through NOW TV you can purchase a monthly pass to watch  entertainment or movie content, or you can buy a daily or weekly pass to enjoy sport all without signing up to a contract. Plus, when watching on the NOW TV Box, you can watch catch-up services including BBC iPlayer, All 4 and ITV Player for free.

Simply put: NOW TV gives you the TV you really want (without any of the stuff you don’t).  And, with NOW TV you can cancel when you want, so you're not tied in.

Available passes are:

• Entertainment Month Pass (£6.99) – a month’s access to over 250 Box Sets and 13 channels not available on Freeview, including Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, Sky Living, Sky Arts, Discovery, MTV, Comedy Central, GOLD, Disney, FOX, Nickelodeon and Nick. Jnr, plus ITV Encore 

• Sky Sports Day Pass (£6.99) and Sky Sports Week Pass (£10.99) – available to purchase via NOWTV.com. The biggest matches and events live on all 7 Sky Sports channels including exclusive live action from the Barclays Premier League, Formula 1®, Test cricket, US and European Tour golf, ATP tennis, European and international rugby union and much more.

• Sky Movies Month Pass (£9.99) – a month’s access to over 1000 movies on demand including up to four new and exclusive Sky Movies premiers each week,  so there’s always something to watch when you want including exclusive Sky Premieres 

The NOW TV Box offers customers a quick and easy way to convert a regular TV into a Smart TV for a one-off box cost of £9.99 with a NOW TV Pass (from £6.99). NOW TV Box: Connects to TV via HDMI (cable supplied). NOW TV account required to activate box.  Customers can select a Sky Movies Pass, Sky Sports Day Pass or an Entertainment Month Pass to create an account and watch NOW TV.  All Passes sold separately. Some apps on the box (such as Spotify) cost extra. Month passes renew automatically until cancelled. 

Follow us on twitter @NOWTV

Join the conversation at facebook.com/NOWTV

Visit us at Youtube.com/nowtvofficial