'Game of Thrones' to premiere next spring

HBO confirmed: "Game of Thrones" will indeed premiere next spring.

One executive at the TCA press tour said that he thought it will premiere March 3rd, though another corrected him and just said "spring."

"It's a genre we've approached somewhat cautiously," said Michael Lombardo, HBO's programming president. "We have two writers ... who are so smart and so talented. Neither of us are particularly fans of the genre. It was such enormously compelling reading. It wasn't the genre we responded to it was the storytelling."

"It's really about power," added Richard Plepler, co-president. "And that's a theme which has resonated throughout history. You'll forget where you are very quickly and will find yourself immersed in the storytelling."

Both executives noted that the show's intense online fandom is helpful for growing an audience ... yet also adds pressure.

"It's a ravenous audience," Lombardo said. "You have to get it right. Those fans are waiting. They've set a bar that, if you do it, you have to do it right.