• by Wayne Friedman , April 14, 2015

HBO’s “Game of Thrones” continues to be a powerhouse for its season five start -- even better than its season four debut.

The heralded drama was up 17% versus a year ago, pulling in a massive Nielsen 7.997 million viewers, against 6.84 million for its first episode of 2014. Its 4.2 rating among 18-49ers on Sunday night was also up 17% from season four’s premiere which was at a 3.6 number.

A second season of HBO’s comedy “Silicon Valley” also posted strong Sunday honors -- coming in second place among all cable shows on the night -- getting to 2.126 million viewers and a healthy 1.3 rating among 18-49ers.

Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Atlanta” was also a strong player on the night -- 2.6 million viewers and a 1.1 rating among 18-49 viewers, virtually the same numbers the previous Sunday.

MTV’s “2015 MTV Movie Awards” got to 1.5 million viewers (a 0.8 rating among 18-49 viewers), an improvement from a year ago, which earned 1.15 million viewers and a 0.7 rating among 18-49ers.

And the second Sunday night for ESPN Major League Baseball saw coverage hit 2.29 million viewer and 0.7 18-49 rating. This was down from the season opener the previous week, which was at 3.3 million viewers and a 1.2 rating.

For the second episode of its last season, “Mad Men” was at a 1.97 million viewers and 0.7 rating among 18-49 viewers. This was slightly down from its first episode of the season -- 2.27 million and a 0.8 rating.