One of the most talked-about shows of the year, House Of The Dragon, was exclusive to Sky and its streaming service NOW in the UK throughout the airing of its first season – but that has now changed.
While the Game of Thrones prequel series is still exclusive to Sky in subscription-based streaming, viewers can now buy the complete first season of House Of The Dragon on digital VOD stores like Amazon’s Prime Video.
Furthermore, the Blu-ray Ultra HD (4K) edition of the series is also now available to pre-order, with an estimated release date of December 19, 2022.
Price-wise, it might still make more sense for some to subscribe and watch the show via Sky or NOW, than to buy and own it digitally – though there are pros and cons for both methods (see below for a price comparison).
It’s also worth mentioning that the first episode of House Of The Dragon is still available to watch for free on YouTube in the UK.
House of The Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and is based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood book.
The series tells the story of House Targaryen, and chronicles the conquest that united the Seven Kingdoms under Targaryen rule through the Dance of the Dragons: the Targaryen civil war that nearly ended their dynasty forever.
House of The Dragon stars Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Sonoya Mizuno, Fabien Frankel, and Rhys Ifans.
The first season of House of The Dragon was a massive success for HBO in the US and Europe (and Sky in the UK), breaking several records set in the past by its parent show, Game of Thrones.
In the UK, House of The Dragon aired on Sky in 4K and on its streaming service NOW (only in Full HD), with each episode getting released alongside its US release.
Season 1 ended on October 23, 2022, with a total of 10 episodes. A second season has already been ordered.
How To Watch House Of The Dragon Without Sky
Now that the Season 1 of House Of The Dragon has finished airing, the series is available to purchase digitally on VOD stores such as Amazon’s Prime Video, Apple’s iTunes and Google’s Play Store.
This is not a rental – once you buy the series, you own it indefinitely and can rewatch it however many times you want.
Do note that the show isn’t available on Amazon’s Prime Video subscription-based library, but only as a standalone purchase.
Unlike on Sky, however, the show is currently only available to buy digitally in HD, and not in Ultra HD.
As of this writing, each HD episode costs £2.49, and the complete Season 1 costs £23.99 (or £17.99 in SD).
Once you buy the season, you can stream it on any device that supports Amazon’s Prime Video app – including Amazon’s own Fire TV sticks, Roku sticks, Smart TVs, several Freeview Play boxes and more.
At £23.99 for the entire season, however, you may still be better off signing up for Sky’s NOW streaming service for just one month – and watching House Of The Dragon there.
Normally, NOW’s Entertainment membership costs £9.99/month, though as of this writing they’re running an offer where you can get 3 months for £15.
Keep in mind though that with NOW, you don’t own the series – and you can lose access to it when Sky loses the rights to stream it.
Another option is to sign up for Sky’s new Stream box, which is a standalone streaming device that lets you get Sky without a long-term contract.
You will end up paying more, though – as you have to pay a one-time activation fee of £39.95, and then sign up for Sky Ultimate, which includes Sky Atlantic and House of The Dragon – for £29/month.
On the other hand, you will be getting additional premium channels and shows for a month, and not just House Of The Dragon.