THE COMMERCE AND ECONOMICS OF FANTASY

Abstract

The biggest moment in TV history of this century ended with the curtains closing on the extremely popular Game of Thrones [hereinafter “GoT”] television series. Home Box Office [hereinafter “HBO”] states that the episode titled "The Long Night," delivered 17.8 million viewers, making it the most-watched episode in the show's history. Wagers and bets of all kinds were floated and placed on the outcome of the finale, followed by a myriad of reactions worldwide. GoT has taken the world by storm, and although I have not watched a single episode of this epic fantasy drama, I was nevertheless intrigued with all the brouhaha and bustle surrounding it. The principal purpose of this paper is to study and scope out from various accessible secondary data what made the series a rage like no other, the intellectual properties (created, generated and acquired) that it rode on, and the values generated by this ever-popular franchise in terms of the revenues and profits unleashed by it and their exploitation thereby. In essence, this paper intends to examine the intellectual properties created in this franchise and how it enabled wealth and asset generation for the principal players and others linked to the show.