Game of Thrones is a television series and global entertainment franchise based on A Song of Ice and Fire, the novels by George R. R. Martin. The TV series and related on-screen rights are owned and controlled by HBO (Home Box Office) — the premium cable and streaming network that developed and produced the show — and HBO operates as a brand within the larger corporate parent Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (ticker: WBD). HBO acquired the television and film option to Martin’s novels in 2007 and developed that option into the Game of Thrones series that premiered in 2011.
HBO is headquartered in New York City and is known for premium scripted series, films, and streaming via HBO Max / the HBO platform(s) managed by Warner Bros. Discovery. Warner Bros. Discovery is a publicly traded media conglomerate that holds HBO and many other entertainment assets.
Ownership Status of Game of Thrones
There is no single private “owner” who exclusively controls every element of the Game of Thrones franchise. Ownership is a combination of:
- HBO — owns the television and screen rights to the Game of Thrones TV series and the franchise content it produced (the series, spin-offs it greenlit, distribution rights for the show, merchandising licensing deals HBO/WBD controls for screen-derived products).
- George R. R. Martin — as the author, he retains copyright ownership in the original novels (the underlying literary works) and certain authorial rights; HBO licensed/optioned the screen rights from Martin (initial option announced in 2007). The practical effect: HBO owns and controls TV/movie exploitation of the books under its option/license; Martin remains the owner/author of the novels.
- Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) — the corporate parent that ultimately controls HBO and the corporate assets (so Game of Thrones as a TV property sits within WBD’s content library). Because WBD is publicly traded, its ownership is distributed among institutional and retail shareholders.
Major Shareholders (Warner Bros. Discovery — context for corporate control)
| Shareholder / Entity | Approx. Ownership | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Vanguard Group, Inc. | ~11% | Largest institutional holder (data current through Q3–Q4 2025 filings). |
| BlackRock, Inc. | ~7% | Large institutional shareholder via multiple funds. |
| State Street Corporation | ~6% | Another large institutional holder. |
Note: percentages can shift with trading and quarterly 13F filings; the numbers above come from public holder summaries (late-2025 reporting).
Key Shareholder & Rights Highlights
- HBO holds the screen rights. HBO acquired the TV/film option to A Song of Ice and Fire in 2007 and developed the television adaptation that became Game of Thrones; that licensed relationship and subsequent production meant HBO (and now HBO under WBD) controls on-screen exploitation.
- George R. R. Martin remains the author and copyright owner of the novels. He has continued to work with HBO on development deals and signed a multi-year development deal with HBO in 2021 to produce additional programming related to his work. That agreement is separate from the original option/rights that allowed HBO to produce the main Game of Thrones series.
- Corporate parent: Warner Bros. Discovery. Because HBO is part of WBD, strategic decisions about the franchise (renewals, spin-offs, global distribution and licensing) flow through WBD’s corporate structure. WBD is a public company; therefore, ultimate control is exercised through its board and its shareholders. Recent corporate developments (bids and takeover interest in late-2025) have made the ownership picture of WBD a headline issue, but they do not change that HBO/WBD currently controls the Game of Thrones TV franchise.
Recent Developments in Ownership (brief, only if relevant)
- WBD corporate activity (2025): In 2025 there were high-profile bids and takeover interest in Warner Bros. Discovery (including competing approaches from Netflix, Paramount/Skydance and others). These takeover attempts and the company’s strategic moves could, if a transaction closed, change which corporation ultimately owns HBO and the Game of Thrones TV library. As of the latest public reporting (December 2025), WBD remained the corporate home for HBO and the franchise while bids and board decisions were unfolding. This is corporate-level activity affecting the parent company rather than a transfer of the underlying Game of Thrones rights away from HBO.
FAQs
1. Who is the current owner of Game of Thrones?
The Game of Thrones TV series and on-screen rights are owned and controlled by HBO, which is a brand within Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company. George R. R. Martin remains the copyright owner of the original novels.
2. Is Game of Thrones publicly or privately owned?
The franchise’s TV rights are held by a corporate entity (HBO/WBD). Warner Bros. Discovery is publicly traded (ticker: WBD), so its ownership is distributed among institutional and retail shareholders.
3. Who founded Game of Thrones, the show?
The TV adaptation was developed for HBO by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, based on George R. R. Martin’s novels. They served as showrunners; they did not “own” the property in the corporate sense — HBO did via its option/license.
4. Can George R. R. Martin “take back” the TV rights?
No simple unilateral “take back” exists — HBO acquired optioned/licensed screen rights under contract. Martin remains the author of the books and continues to be creatively involved at times (and has development deals with HBO), but screen exploitation rights are governed by the contracts he signed with HBO.
Game of Thrones Official HBO Website
Game of Thrones, the TV show, is owned and controlled by HBO, which is part of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The books and original literary copyright remain George R. R. Martin’s. Corporate ownership of the HBO brand is public (WBD), so ultimate control is held by WBD’s board and its shareholders — and large institutional holders include Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street.
Recent 2025 corporate takeover interest in WBD has drawn headlines, but that is a parent-company / corporate transaction story rather than a direct re-assignment of the Game of Thrones TV rights away from HBO at this time.