May 17, 2019 - Economy & Business

Corporate America's "Game of Thrones" price tag

Data: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.; Chart: Axios Visuals
Data: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.; Chart: Axios Visuals

It's not March Madness, but the upcoming finale of "Game of Thrones" is going to cost employers billions in lost productivity.

The impact: An estimated 10.7 million Americans will skip work the morning after the finale airs on Sunday night, according to The Workforce Institute at Kronos.

Yes, but: Although some employees may not show up and water-cooler discussions of "Game of Thrones" may be intense as the HBO series nears its conclusion, there are far costlier workplace diversions, according to a calculation by the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Go deeper: Final season of "Game of Thrones" marks decline of appointment TV

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