HBO’s fancy drama, Game of Thrones, is now in its eighth and final session. The captivating TV series is all over encore telecasts, DVR playback, on-demand, HBO Go and HBO Now. 

 

The final series, consisting of six episodes, premiered on Apr 14 and is expected to wrap up on May 19. The finale, no doubt, is the most talked about since Breaking Bad in September 2013. And it surely should outshine the series finale of The Big Bang Theory on May 16 on CBS. Lest we forget, CBS currently has twice the distribution of HBO.

 

The medieval-fantasy TV series is based on a well-liked book series, A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, and is likely to lure viewers as long as the creators continue to produce enthralling plots and don’t deviate far from the book. 

 

Talking about the level of interest, let’s take a look at why the fantasy series continued to gain popularity — 

 

 

When Game of Thrones debuted in 2011, it garnered an average of 9.3 million audiences. And in the seventh season, the average viewership went up to 32.8 million. Very few series have increased viewership every season, with AMC’s Breaking Bad, aired between 2008 and 2013, being an exception.

 

So, what are the reasons for Game of Thrones’ success? First of all, let’s admit it has a fantastic content line-up, and is undoubtedly a quality show. Otherwise, why would this series be nominated for a whopping 132 Emmy Awards and eventually win 47, way more than any other drama series. The much-liked series has already won the Emmy Award for Best Drama three times.

 

The series, by the way, is readily available. And that increases the viewership. While nearly 10.3 million watch Game of Thrones on HBO, around 22.5 million watch the show on streaming sites. Game of Thrones also has limited episodes compared to other series. Thus, it becomes easier for those who haven’t seen the earlier episodes to catch up while it was on pause, and help boost viewer count.  Game of Thrones is expected to air only 73 episodes over the eight seasons, compared to Big Bang Theory’s 72 episodes in the past three-year period alone.

 

Last but not the least, for the final season, HBO said that the drama will be seen in at least 207 countries and territories, which is expected to generate over one billion viewers across the globe.

 

 

As Cersei said that “when you play the 'Game of Thrones,' you either win or you die. There is no middle ground.” Similarly, let us look at stocks that can only win, thanks to this much-sorted TV series.

 

Of course, first in the list would be AT&T Inc. (T Quick QuoteT - Free Report) , the parent company of Home Box Office, or HBO. Game of Thrones’ success will surely boost AT&T’s bottom line. After all, the drama series is the most tweeted TV show ever and is breaking record ratings for HBO popular. 

 

But, John Stankey, an AT&T executive did say that “Game of Thrones is kind of a ‘once-in-a-decade’ or ‘once-in-a-two-decade’ kind of moment. The goal is to have a collection of content that keeps the customer permanently engaged.” 

 

And that’s exactly what’s happening. HBO’s other innovative original television series, including Sex in the City, The Sopranos and Wired, to name a few are also helping its stock gain traction. The Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company has seen its shares gaining 7.2% so far this year, more than the Wireless National industry’s rise of 5.5%.

 

 

AT&T, separately, is poised to gain from the imminent 5G boom and extended LTE coverage. Thus, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has increased 0.3% over the past 60 days.

 

 

For the moment, Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN Quick QuoteAMZN - Free Report) , the Seattle-based online retailer, offers an array of products including free two-day shipping with Amazon Prime. And it’s this Amazon Prime that offers content such as Game of Thrones. In fact, they offered the first two seasons at no extra charge.

 

Amazon has already reported a huge earnings beat in the first quarter and its revenues matched expectations. Amazon has been one of the best-performing tech stocks so far this year and has outperformed the broader Internet - Commerce industry over the past year (+22.5% vs. +2.4%). 

 

 

The Zacks Rank #3 company is, currently, among the top three most valuable companies in the world. The other two are Apple Inc. (AAPL Quick QuoteAAPL - Free Report) and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT Quick QuoteMSFT - Free Report) . Nonetheless, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Amazon’s current-year earnings has advanced 0.6% over the past 60 days.

 

 

HBO, in the meantime, has used social media to publicize Game of Thrones and, of course Facebook, Inc. gained immensely by spreading the word that “Winter is Coming.” Facebook’s official HBO Game of Throne page saw more than 5 million “likes.” In fact, Game of Thrones helped Facebook live up to its true purpose. It helped people share similar interests and engage with one another.

 

Facebook, currently, has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), while the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-quarter earnings has risen 9.1% over the past 60 days. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

 

 

While shares of the online social media and social networking service company have gained 8.3% over the past year, the broader Internet - Services industry more or less remained flat.

 

 

 

Imagine buying Microsoft stock in the early days of personal computers… or Motorola after it released the world’s first cell phone. These technologies changed our lives and created massive profits for investors.

 

Today, we’re on the brink of the next quantum leap in technology. 7 innovative companies are leading this “4th Industrial Revolution” - and early investors stand to earn the biggest profits.