'The Newsroom' Premieres to 2.1 Million Viewers

Aaron Sorkin series ranks third among recent HBO drama debuts

By Andrea Morabito -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/25/2012 3:49:52 PM

HBO's The Newsroom premiered to an audience of 2.1 million viewers at 10 p.m. on Sunday, making it one of the pay cabler's top debuts in recent years.

The Aaron Sorkin drama's 2.1 million watchers ranked it third, below Game of Thrones, which opened to 2.2 million viewers in 2011, and Boardwalk Empire, which debuted to 4.8 million viewers in 2010, of HBO's drama premieres since 2008.

Overall, The Newsroom drew a gross audience of 2.7 million viewers for the night, adding 513,000 watchers in its 11:15 p.m. replay.

At 9 p.m., True Blood averaged 4.7 million viewers and 324,000 for its 12:30 a.m. replay. That series first premiered to an audience of 1.4 million in 2008.