HBO reportedly spent over $100 million marketing the new Game of Thrones spin-off series, House of the Dragon. Deadline reports that the figure is a combination of ad spot value and actual cash paid out.
HBO’s EVP of Originals Marketing, Pia Barlow, confirmed to the outlet that the network was interested in generating the broadest awareness possible for the new series.
“The House of the Dragon campaign is really about generating big, broad awareness and interest throughout the summer, but to also make sure we’re signaling to existing fans as well as new fans alike that this is a new Game of Thrones story coming to HBO Max,” Barlow said.
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The stakes are unmistakably high for HBO. If House of the Dragon pans out, it means the network could have its hands on one of the biggest pieces of intellectual property to pull content from for years to come.
Warner Bros. Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav wrote that nearly 130 million people in the U.S. have been reached in an email obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, earlier this week.
“We reached nearly 130 million people in the U.S. alone,” Zaslav wrote. “It has also been exciting to see teams across the company work collaboratively with the HBO team in what has been an unprecedented cross-promotional campaign. And we’ve done all of this in just a few short months, clearly showing what we can accomplish when our networks, streaming platforms, digital and social channels, all work collectively in support of one shared priority. We can really move the needle and I can’t wait to see what we will do on future campaigns when we harness the full reach and unique opportunities we bring to the table.”
House of the Dragon is scheduled to premiere at 9:00 PM, ET on Sunday night.
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