HBO
Are you ready for Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 4 on HBO on Sunday, May 5? After what happened last week, you will want to watch this week’s episode live if possible. If you watched last week after it aired, you might have been spoiled about what happened to the Night King and who lived and who died. But if you’re on the west coast, how can you avoid being spoiled? The timing can be confusing since west coast folks tend to be behind everyone else. However, there’s a trick to be able to watch live, with everyone else, even if you’re in the Pacific Time Zone. Read on for more details.
Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 4 will air on TV at 9 p.m. Pacific on HBO West for people on the west coast. But it will be available starting at 6 p.m. Pacific for west coast viewers who watch via streaming on HBO NOW or HBO GO. This is according to HBO’s online schedule. Of course, this isn’t a perfect solution. Last week, some viewers who tried to watch live with the rest of the country found that the servers for NOW or GO didn’t work at first, or that the episode looked really, really dark. However, people who chose to watch later at 9 p.m. on the West coast found that the servers worked fine and, in some cases, the viewing quality was actually better. This week there will likely be less of a difference in quality among viewing times, since we’re not expecting a big battle in the middle of the night in the show’s universe.
If you live in the West Coast Pacific time zone and watch Game of Thrones on TV, you’ll be seeing the premiere a bit later than your counterparts in the Eastern or Central time zones. If you tune into HBO on TV at 6 p.m. Pacific when everyone else is watching on the East and Central coasts, you’ll either see part of the movie The Predator or you’ll see last week’s episode, The Long Night, which airs immediately before the new episode.
If you watch the show via streaming, you’ll get to watch right at the same time as your eastern counterparts even if you’re on the west coast, according to HBO’s online schedule. The online schedule lists HBO GO and HBO NOW streaming times as being simultaneous with the Eastern coast release, while HBO West’s TV channel release is later.
So in conclusion, if you’re watching it on HBO NOW or HBO GO, the episode will be available everywhere when it airs at 9 p.m. Eastern time (which is 6 p.m. Pacific.) But if you watch on TV, you’ll have to wait until 9 p.m. Pacific.
Meanwhile, On Demand is even later and won’t be released until May 6.
To find out what channel Game of Thrones is on for you in the U.S., click here to go to TV Guide’s listings. Then change the “Provider” (right under TV Listings) to your local provider. You’ll be able to scroll down to see what channel HBO is on in your region.
Tonight’s episode will be 1 hour and 18 minutes long.
For details about the premiere time and channels all across the world and the Season 8 schedule, see Heavy’s story here.