HBO parent company Time Warner has released their latest quarterly earnings report and within it are the latest viewer numbers for Game of Thrones. HBO is now reporting that Game of Thrones averaged 14.2 million viewers per episode last season. This is a 20% increase over season 2’s viewership number and is a significant jump from the last reported number of 13.6 million. (You can download the full report here.)

What does this mean? It means that even well into season 3 Thrones‘ viewership is still climbing. Which is pretty unprecedented for a drama like this. I suspect the Red Wedding may have had something to do with the late season jump as people got caught up on the show to see what all the fuss is about.

This also means that Game of Thrones is very, very close to becoming HBO’s most-watched show of all-time. The Sopranos is currently tops with an average of 14.4 million viewers per episode. Game of Thrones may very well break that next season.

Winter Is Coming: Take a moment to let that sink in. The network that brought us huge hits and pop culture staples such as The Sopranos, Sex and the City and True Blood… and when it is all said and done, Game of Thrones may top them all. Who would have believed that 4 years ago? We were just hoping the show would make it to air. What a ride.