You can probably blame it on HBO’s highly popular “Game of Thrones,” which, in case you haven’t heard, just began its eighth and final season. Last Sunday’s premiere episode attracted a reported 17.4 million total viewers, including via HBO Go and HBO Now, making it the most-watched HBO telecast in history.

The latest numbers from YouGov Plan and Track show that, at present, 27% of US consumers ages 18-34 recall talking about the network with friends and family members in the past two weeks. That’s a new record for the brand, which YouGov began tracking in late 2012.

Since January 2019, the networks industry as a whole has averaged a Word of Mouth score of 7% among US consumers ages 18-34. Among US adults ages 18+, HBO’s current Word of Mouth score stands at 18%.

YouGov’s Buzz metric — which asks consumers if they’ve heard anything positive or negative about a particular brand in the past two weeks — reveals another reassuring sign for HBO. While the network started 2019 with a Buzz score of +21 among younger adult consumers, over the past month that number has increased to reach +26.

Among all US adults ages 18+, HBO’s present Buzz score is +15.

Additional YouGov data finds that US consumers who have a positive opinion of “Game of Thrones” are more likely than the average American adult to agree that streaming services have changed TV watching for them (74% vs. 61%), enjoy watching advertisements featuring their favorite celebrities (43% vs. 32%), and live in a suburb (37% vs. 31%).

Photo: Getty

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