True Detective season 3 episode 5 will stream early due to Super Bowl

Days ago, we predicted that HBO would likely stream True Detective season 3 episode 5 a little bit early, largely due to the Super Bowl on Sunday. The network recognizes that it’s probably not going to get huge ratings with airing the show in its regular timeslot, but they do want to ensure that they have an impact this weekend. They don’t want to be forgotten — hence, the decision that they are now making.

Today, the network confirmed that on Friday, episode 5 will be available across the network’s digital platforms, including HBO GO and HBO Now. It’s a way to watch it before getting into your Super Bowl parties — or, if you are a New Orleans Saints fan, trying to pretend the entire day doesn’t exist this year. (New episodes of Crashing and High Maintenance are also going to be available early.)

For those who are not watching the big game and going into a buffalo wing coma, rest assured that all three shows will still air on Sunday in their typical timeslot — HBO just wants to give everyone options so that nobody ends up missing any of these shows.

Do we still wonder about HBO’s scheduling decisions at large this season? Sure, mostly because as we recently reported, True Detective also has some airings coming up opposite the Grammys and the Oscars — it’s actually airing its final episode directly opposite the latter. Given that the final season of Game of Thrones is not premiering until April, we don’t necessarily understand the need to put True Detective, one of their most popular franchises, on the air against these heavy hitters. Then again, HBO doesn’t care so much about live ratings; instead, their main prerogative is to just ensure that there are viewers watching their shows, period. It doesn’t really matter when they are watching their shows so much as the fact that they are watching them at some point and paying for a subscription.

If we were HBO, there’s one thing that we know for sure we would do: Debut the trailer for the final Game of Thrones prior to the start of the True Detective finale and maybe give a five-minute head start to viewers who are watching it on the network before it hits YouTube. It’s the perfect way to draw a little bit more attention to the show, and maybe get some people looking to get a subscription early — yes, we understand it’s only five minutes, but this is Game of Thrones that we’re talking about!

Related – Be sure to check out some other insight regarding True Detective

What do you want to see on True Detective season 3 episode 5? Be sure to share some of your thoughts in the comments and stay tuned to get some other news. (Photo: HBO.)