TV isn’t dead. Netflix and HBO might tell you that. But can this same theory apply for ad-supported TV?

HBO’s “Game of Thrones” just boosted its year-ago premiere ratings by a massive 50% to 16.1 million total viewers. This comes from 10.1 million linear TV viewers, and 6 million from digital, on-demand and other viewing.

More narrowly, the season seven premiere episode of the popular drama is up 27% in linear TV viewing to 10.1 million. That's from 7.29 million a year ago. It has steadily grown viewership in its seven-year run.

Can ad-supported TV programs offer any of the same evidence of growth -- especially for a TV series entering its seventh season? Not exactly.

AMC’s “Walking Dead” had increased viewer growth in its initial five years, only to tail off a bit in the last two. In 2015, Fox did have a surprising run for “Empire” in its first season --  each new episode grew over the previously aired show. It has since declined as well, but is still a good performer.

No doubt it’s harder for individual TV programs. But if you listen to David Poltrack, chief research officer for CBS Corp., a broader picture might look better.

Earlier this year, in analyzing Nielsen preliminary Total Content Ratingsmetric, which considers DVR playback and video on demand viewing, Poltrack said: “The numbers are coming in at the levels of audience around 2000, which was a time when time-shifted viewing was not measured.”

Well, that’s good news. But what about the future? Better results may be coming, as data did not include online and/or mobile streaming.

Long-term, many might wonder whether it’s an either/or situation: ad-supported TV or ad-free TV.

Young viewers look to avoid ad-support TV -- traditional or digital platforms -- more than older TV viewers.  At best, they might seem to watch ad-supported TV with radically different scheduling formats.

At the recent traditional TV upfront, there was still plenty of momentum behind traditional linear TV. But where is the momentum for future TV viewers?

A continuing “Thrones” theme speaks of colder days to come.