“The House of The Dragon” is taking flight for HBO Max. After scoring the largest premiere audience ever for an HBO series, the show saw a rare ratings increase in its second week. The sky is the limit for this “Game of Thrones” prequel, especially if it continues to be marketed successfully.
That marketing campaign took a new turn this week, as the first episode of “House of The Dragon” has shown up on HBO Max’s official YouTube page for free.
Watch the first episode of “House of The Dragon” on YouTube here.
It’s a creative strategy for HBO, and at first it seems to fly in the face of their immediate goal of fattening parent company Warner Bros. Discovery’s bottom line. The company has been axing content from its streaming platform left and right in order to come up with a total $3 billion in savings. How can they make more money from “House of The Dragon” by offering it up for free?
Obviously, HBO is hoping that a free look will entice people who may still be on the fence regarding an HBO Max subscription. After all, the streamer is one of the more expensive options out there at $14.99 per month for ad-free streaming. A taste of the quality programming that the streamer offers is an excellent way to convince wary customers to sign up.
HBO also partnered with Comcast to offer exclusive “House of the Dragon” content to Xfinity users, in a further attempt to market the show. Not to mention that HBO has not been alone in finding creative ways to advertise its biggest new streaming shows.
Amazon recently offered free theatrical screenings of its newest Prime Video show “The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power” to generate buzz about the series. Similarly, Disney is re-releasing “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” into 150 IMAX screens nationwide to promote their newest Star Wars Disney+ series “Andor.”
If HBO sees a spike in subscriptions thanks to the free release of the first episode of “HoTD,” it will set an example that other streaming services will surely follow. As the streaming market reaches a saturation point and revenues flatten, companies will do whatever they have to do to ensure they remain relevant in the eyes of subscribers.
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