Sunday cable ratings: ‘Game of Thrones’ hits new highs (again), ‘Veep’ finale holds steady

With its penultimate episode, “Game of Thrones” not only held onto the no. 1 spot in the Sunday cable ratings, but drew in its largest audience ever.

The HBO fantasy series led the night by ticking up three-tenths from its previous 5.1 to a 5.4 rating in adults 18-49 – its second-highest rating in the demo to date. The episode’s initial 12.48 million viewer audience is also a new series high for “Thrones,” beating its season 7 finale’s initial 12.07 million viewers, which had been the show’s previous high.

Meanwhile, the series finale of “Veep” scored the same 0.4 as its penultimate episode, and managed to tick up from 1.07 million viewers to 1.1 million. Additionally, “Barry” posted its second straight 0.8, and “Last Week Tonight” raked in a 0.4.

TNT’s broadcast of the 76ers vs. Raptors (2.5) NBA playoff game came second in the night, while the network’s post-game “Inside the NBA Playoffs” (1.3) special placed third. Elsewhere, TLC’s “90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After?” grabbed a 0.5, while E!’s “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” maintained its previous 0.4.

Outside of the night’s top 25, the BBC America and AMC simulcast of “Killing Eve” scored a combined 0.2 rating and 1.02 million viewer audience, down slightly from its previous episode’s combined 0.3 rating. Showtime’s “Billions,” however, continued its 0.2 streak once again.

Top 25 original cable shows among adults 18-49 for Sunday, May 12, 2019

Source: The Nielsen Company.