HBO Plans to Combat Game of Thrones Piracy, Sort Of

Ernesto
March 5, 2013
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game of thrones,
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Last week Game of Thrones director David Petrarca said that piracy isn’t hurting his show, and that it may actually help to build an audience. Several of the show’s actors, on the other hand, have a more negative view towards piracy and equate it to stealing. HBO is not amused either and the TV-network has a plan to counter piracy in 2013. Will it be good enough?

backhanded With 4.3 million downloads per episode, Game of Thrones was the most pirated TV-show on the Internet last year.

With the third season of the popular TV-series premiering at the end of the month, this questionable honor has been brought up a few times in the media.

Last week the show’s director, David Petrarca, noted that these unauthorized downloads actually do more good than harm. According to the director, pirates are partly responsible for the “cultural buzz” the show needs to thrive and survive.

Some of the show’s actors are more reserved though. Talking to the BBC actors Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) mentions that he has mixed feelings about the “most pirated” title.

“There is a little part of you where you go, yes, we’re the most pirated .. But then you go… This is really bad isn’t it,” he says.

The actor hopes that some of the pirates will end up buying a DVD or Blu-Ray, but he clearly has his doubts. “At the end of the day it’s stealing. I know it doesn’t feel like it but it is, and it’s not right.”

Rose Leslie, who plays Ygritte, understands that HBO is not going to be thrilled about the ‘achievement’ but sees the massive piracy as a compliment nonetheless.

“I suppose it’s a bit of a backhanded compliment, isn’t it? I don’t think HBO will be too happy, but yes, one way or another that’s a huge compliment. Not just to me but to the show as a whole,” she says.

For their part HBO admit they are somewhat to ‘blame’ for Game of Thrones’ high piracy rates. In previous years it was impossible to view the show legally in many locations, and HBO will do better on this front in 2013.

Jeff Cusson, HBO’s senior vice president of corporate affairs, told Forbes this week that Game of Thrones will be available in 176 territories very shortly after the U.S. release.

“We think the key to combating piracy is to make content like Game of Thrones available worldwide within the smallest window possible…to 176 territories within the week of the U.S. premiere,” Cusson says.

It’s unclear what “territories” Cusson is talking about but more availability is certainly a good thing. Whether it’s good enough remains to be seen, as even a 24-hour delay may be too much for die-hard fans of the show.

In addition, it’s not ideal that some people have to buy a full HBO subscription just to see one show. To many people this feels like a waste of money. After all, you don’t buy a full car if you only need the rims.

If HBO really wants to tackle the high piracy numbers it probably has to take more drastic measures.

What would make a serious dent in the piracy rate is if HBO began selling a worldwide season pass for Game of Thrones alone, allowing people to see the entire season on their favorite device, without any delays for a reasonable price.

HBO is not oblivious to this option but would rather stick to their full subscription model with its regional limitations. Apparently, the network believes that this is the best long-term strategy.

This means that they can probably take another “most pirated” title for granted.

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Follow @torrentfreak

http://twitter.com/D_K_Head D_K_Head

…I still have no clue why in the age of digital media and on-demand stuff, content providers feel the need to include an international delay. All it does is piss off the international community: The ones getting it first don’t care that they get to see it before anyone else unless they’re especially vindictive… And if they are? Fuck ‘em.
- icec0ld
  
  Because they’re idiots, quite simply. It really can’t be under stated enough. They are quite literally thumbing their noses at millions of dollars in pure revenue.
  
  Hence why I can pirate this without a moral care. HBO refuses to sell to me so I will simply refuse to buy.
  - PiRat
    
    “Hence why I can pirate this without a moral care.”
    
    As if them being owned by Time Warner wasn’t a big enough reason not to care?
    - ITakeAPotatoChipAndEatIt
      
      “As if them being owned by Time Warner wasn’t a big enough reason not to care?”
      +1
      
      Hey! Watch that language, those 2 words put together are one of the single most horrible profanities that could ever be said.
    - Scary_Devil_Monastery
      
      ” those 2 words put together are one of the single most horrible profanities that could ever be said.”
      
      try this: Sony Music.
    - PiRat
      
      Stop it, your scaring the children xD
    - Scary_Devil_Monastery
      
      “Stop it, your scaring the children xD”
      
      If they’re anywhere near a computer, that’s my job.
  - Guest
    
    “Because they’re idiots, quite simply.”
    
    It’s because they’re control freaks. It doesn’t matter that international delays make no sense anymore, it doesn’t matter that eliminating them would increase revenue.
    
    They do it simply because the power gives them a stiffy. Nothing more, nothing less.
    - 7th_Guest
      
      Eh, being control freaks is only one part of the answer. The, IMO more important, other part is, just like many others in the show business, they’re still going off of the old playbook that stipulates that you’ll sell more if you bundle up your crapware with your premium content and mark it all up together in a neat package the saps will be forced to buy. Of course, this conventional marketing trick has long since been torpedoed and sunk, primarily thanks to Pirates, going back to the advent of iTunes and piecemeal digital sales services that superseded the Fillers Album paradigm.
      
      Keeping the pressure on One/Two (Few?) Hit(s) Wonder TV/movie companies that still today seek to monetize (read offload) the rest of their catalogue this way by continuously pirating the good stuff, disregarding the rest and persistently harping on the fact that they aren’t delivering the goods as they should is the only way to effect change, so let’s keep that up, folks :).
    - EveryWoman2535
      
      Ironically, the drop in CORPORATE music revenues that they like to blame on “pirates” is statistically largely attributable to the unbundling of songs. People purchase a single song instead of an album which costs less. However, several studies have also shown that while music piracy does have a (limited) impact it is more likely to INCREASE sales in the long term–in the same way that FREE radio play increases sales. And it’s the major commercial music studios that have suffered revenue loss, not the individual artists–a fact many of the studies ignore. (Techdirt)
  - Romet6
    
    Crazy stubborn *businessmen* who refuse to accept that times change and that they need to change with them. I wonder what is the average age of these people, I bet that half of them are senile.
    
    I imagine a comic strip of these people calling the shots from a retirement home, crying about “them damn pirates” and about losing money, while a crowd of people are trying to hand them cash only to be brushed off because they are interrupting the sob stories.
- guest
  
  Gotta keep them feathers ruffled a little. Upset the masses so they get distracted, thusly allowing the elite to control U.
Pierat

the ONLY way ye can win this so called war is to CUT the POWER.
Rrrrrrr
- Wallace
  
  They could always not make the show.
  
  Notice nobody ever seems to discuss that as an option. And why would they? Everybody who is going to buy already does and profits are soaring.
  - Pierat
    
    AYE….but then again……despite this specific topic, is this really about just one show? aye tis the most shared, but not the ONLY show they makes that is. they keep flapping there yappers on houst to go abuts stopping sharers and I say the solution but no….they refuse to Matty. nothing they do can stop sharing with out pulling the plug. if they do stop making the show they can’t make money unless they do another. AYE tis the problem….MONEY..and..GREED
Guestz0r

Week after the premiere is NOT going to WORK! Jesus, get that in your head. People, we, consumers want it as SOON as it is available in the USA. God dammit, it’s like talking to a retarded people.
- Bananas
  
  i would like to know what their CEO have to say about it, make sno sense..but we don’t know the inside things
  - downloader
    
    the inside things are this……they don’t like the sharing of there works for free. that’s Y they call it theft/profit loss they.
    
    “don’t you know that Piracy = stealing”
    
    “ya right, tell me another one”
    
    so they take it out on there employes. then they try and sue people for infringements, regardless of what the law says.
    - flick
      
      wow… that was a thrilling account of the “inside things”… “they don’t like to share their work for free” are you stupid or something?
- Thrones FAN
  
  People, we, consumers want it BEFORE it is available in the USA. God dammit, it’s like talking to a retarded people.
  
  FTFY
  - salvagesalvage
    
    I want it before it’s even shot, season 5 right now bitches!
    - MasterJ633
      
      They should copy “Spaceballs” and have “Instant Cassettes” (Or in this case, “Instant Blue-Rays.)
      
      “Out in stores before it’s even finished.”
    - Winter Is Here
      
      Or he could always read the book. :-)
      
      HBO is part of the cable service I pay monthly for. Despite that fact, I still prefer to download the show via bittorrent. It’s just so much more convenient that way.
    - Guest
      
      actually.. if you convince one of dem guys cutting the scenes before the show is ready you would get pre-air releases MONTHS in advance – there’s more, you can cut it yourself afterwards or just watch uncut superlong versions of the series :DD
  - NioJio
    
    Ahahaha wonderful pipe dream you have there.
    Do you still want to be an astronaut too?
    - redy
      
      but that is how we get lots of stuff, even after stuff is stopped being produced, fans write their own continuation…
- kinnaslone
  
  just before I saw the paycheck saying $8050, I have faith that…my… sister woz like actualey receiving money part-time on their apple laptop.. there dads buddy started doing this for less than 13 months and just cleared the dept on there condo and purchased a top of the range Peugeot 205 GTi. read more atseaw, http://www.yahoo.com.qr.net/ka01
  - Who
    
    99.99% of the time work from home jobs are scams.
    - Guest
      
      146%
    - cyber worker
      
      i work from home at freelance sites competing in price with the chinese and indians
    - Scary_Devil_Monastery
      
      …at which point in time a cynical man would ask “What, you raise five tickets instead of one so you can cash in the same revenue demanded by one competent german or british engineer?”.
    - tigerkarp
      
      100% of the time someone replys to a spammer a seeder gets arrested :’(
    - Guest
      
      let me guess.. if I don’t share it 3 times after a week I would die?
- One-Eyed Willie
  
  Retarded people are smarter by far. They eventually learn.
- http://twitter.com/hydrallus M.Siffler
  
  Yes but it works for people that are poor because it isn’t shown on HBO in those countries, it’s shown on weird hybrid channels. Like “regular” cable. So it’s no extra premium.
- Guest321
  
  I think you are only considering UK when you say a “week after premiere”. What about other countries where GOT hasn’t even started airing? In many countries these shows are aired on TV a year or two after they first premiered in USA.
- Keiran Blackwell
  
  Not to mention, 1 day is enough for Spoilers to seep throughout the internet. 1 day is enough to ruin a show for many.
torrent freakster

“very shortly after the U.S. release”
“very shortly”, WTF!

What makes americans so special that they have to have it first every time?

I want access to the show the moment anyone else get access to it.
That means i want it to be released globally for everyone at the same time!

Retarded HBO, fuck you!

I’ll continue pirate it until it is truly released globally for everyone at the same time. No imaginary delays! No imaginary geo-blocking.

It is not fair the americans get exclusive first access.
This is partly why i hate americans, they pull stunts like this.

There is no technical reason for such delays.
The delays are as always manufactured. No real reason for them.
- Who
  
  ya this is like the only show they had made that worth a shit. probably Y they are bitching. but ya HBO sucks, one reason Y i don’t ever PAY for there fucking channel.
  
  but you can’t really say that Americans get every thing 1st as most of the stuff shared online comes out of CHINA 1st. and shows that like the UK don’t show over in the US….what about the US people that download them shows? so its not really a problem of who get it 1st, its about the FUCK heads who THINK they can control who gets it 1st.
- R4z0r
  
  Wow…I know where you’re coming from but just think about it for a second…what kind of state is the human race in when people can’t wait a week to see a television show from another country?
  
  Ultimate first world problems!
  - bobmail
    
    Entitlement… it’s something so many people feel.
    - Scary_Devil_Monastery
      
      Why am I not surprised to see you bashing “consumer pressure” as “entitlement”?
      
      Ah, right. Written in copyright church scripture.
  - PelouzeTF
    
    Its that percentage of the human race that make life a little more unbearable for almost everyone else.
    
    The “i want it now, I’m special, I can’t wait, wont wait and will take it if it’s not available now and at a price I want to pay” types
    
    It doesn’t matter what it is they complaining about really, they have no patience and no respect.
    
    Absolutely fucking horrible entitled fuckwits.
    - Scary_Devil_Monastery
      
      “The “i want it now, I’m special, I can’t wait, wont wait and will take
      it if it’s not available now and at a price I want to pay” types…”
      
      Ah, you mean “customers”?
      
      Well, feel free to move to a socialist country where the central market paradigm you describe does not exist.
      
      I think there are a few of them left.
      
      And yes, I know full well the biggest hassle of trying to run a business appears to be those strident customers who keep demanding more.
    - Peter
      
      They’re not customers when they haven’t paid for shit but make demands like they do.
    - Romet6
      
      They are not customers when their money is refused.
    - PelouzeTF
      
      No I don’t mean customers.
      
      To be a customer, you actually have to obtain goods for monetary or other valuable consideration, until then, you are NOT a customer. So no…I don’t mean customers as that would require different wording, which I did not use.
    - EveryWoman2535
      
      The problem is that they’re driving away their PAYING customers by not providing the services (or quality of service) their customers want–and at the same time continually inflating the costs of the existing service. It’s understandable that their angry customers are seeking other avenues. There are several existing studies that back this up. And for a good look at both sides (but with a consumer bias) check out the website: Techdirt.com
    - Romet6
      
      Actually, some of the “pirates” are also their paying customers.
    - dropin
      
      Absolutely fucking horrible entitled fuckwit
      trolls like you Pelouse.
    - PelouzeTF
      
      oh no, how will I recover from such a well reasoned comment.
      
      Thanks for truly embodying the definition of a Fuckwit “dropin”
    - dropin
      
      (oh no, how will I recover from such a well reasoned comment.)
      
      Your paymasters may find it in their hearts to give you a little bonus,to help you recover.
      
      (Thanks for truly embodying the definition of a Fuckwit “dropin”)
      
      You are welcome pelouse,I took my lead from you,now would you kindly carry on trolling.
  - RIAAtarded
    
    it isn’t that we can’t wait the issue is we have technology in place that means we don’t have to. Problem becomes that the right holders don’t want us to have it in a timely manner and we have the ability to get it for ourselves. It all boils down to control and maximizing profits and as consumers we are tired of paying multiple times for the same thing, being overcharged, paying for things we don’t need to get the few things we do want. Sad fact is we do pay and pay a lot and most of us are just tired of it. TV channels are tiered in such a way that you tend to get more of what you don’t want then what you do. Phone service plus long distance monthly. Fast internet speeds and caps and lets be honest no one needs FIOS to check email so ISP know you’re pirating but have the balls to limit or cut you off.
    
    Then you look at legitimate alternatives. VOIP, mine is 30$ for the year free long distance. Hulu, netflix, pandora, spotify all doing a brisk business despite being handicapped by region locks, huge licence fee and several other hurdles put in their way. Downloads, I save 20 minutes for every hour TV show cutting out useless commercials. Most aren’t even available in my country so why watch the ads. Then there is the lack of reality we seem to live in because if i DVR that is legal but if i downloaded it i’m a criminal. I paid to have it, both are digital copies so where is the rational in it?
    
    Basically what needs to be done is make this archives available online for download or streaming and charge a flat fee. The way we consume media has changes so change with.
  - Guest
    
    What kind of state is the human race in when people artificially delay the release of a TV show for absolutely zero reason?
    
    Also, it’s not waiting a week that’s the problem, the problem is that the wait in this case is 100% pointless.
    
    @MAFIAA troll
    
    “Entitlement… it’s something so many people feel.”
    
    That’s a riot coming from somebody who thinks the copyright monopoly is entitled to vast riches every time somebody produces a creative work.
    
    I think the clown who wants middlemen to take a 90% profit cut for doing nothing just might be the one with the entitlement complex, don’t you?
    
    “Its that percentage of the human race that make life a little more unbearable for almost everyone else.”
    
    Yeah, all those damn people sharing things for free makes life a little more unbearable for everyone else.
    
    Wait, hold on. They make life a little more bearable.
    
    It’s miserly psychopaths like you who make it worse.
    
    “Absolutely fucking horrible entitled fuckwits.”
    
    Indeed they are. HBO’s execs should be ashamed of themselves.
    - Pick A Name
      
      Well said, Guest. I won’t put off something for one hour, little alone a week. If it can be done right now, then I’ll do it right now. Living on borrowed time kind of changes your perspectives that way.
  - Romet6
    
    People can wait but they won’t if they don’t have to.
- Cyber Sea Pirate
  
  i will download just ’cause it not simultaneous with USA
  - Henrik
    
    Then it’s still not simultaneous…
    - http://twitter.com/marcusklaas MarcusKlaasDeVries
      
      but close enough :-)
- MadAsASnake
  
  A lot of Americans still think of the rest of the world as a somewhat peripheral thing… This lot seem to think there is more mileage leveraging it into full subscriptions than making it widely available to everyone at the same time. They are stupid – those who already pirate will continue to do so. Those that have HBO won’t. What they don’t think about is the fact they are giving more people reason to pirate…
  - leexgx
    
    due to the fact they are delaying it around the world by 1-2 weeks, if it was the next day after it was aired (as USA is 7-6 hrs behind the world so most would be watching it next day at the normal 9-10PM time)
- DarKPenguiN
  
  …Because it was made here? I mean, really is a week a big deal for a TV show? Hell I am an “American” and I Pirate game of Thrones and The Walking dead- But do not watch them until the season sis over (its like a giant movie to watch over a weekend-)… My issue is not being able to subscribe to JUST HBO (or A&E) and needing a “Cable Package” which includes shit like Nicolodean, BET , MTV and other shit I will never watch (but am forced to fund)- This means I will be paying nearly $80/month for two shows I like… Hell no.
  
  -Give us the Option to get HBO ONLY (the tech is there to Stream it online) or a VPN is a far better deal. period.
  - anon
    
    actually it wasn’t made here. they did use american money though.
  - Anyone
    
    there is even HBO Go where you can stream all the shows
    for some shows even before the episode airs on TV
    
    but they won’t sell you that, you again can only get it with the cable package
  - Amused
    
    This show is mostly shot in Northern Ireland
    - Anyone
      
      among other places in Europe
    - DarKPenguiN
      
      Hmmm- Thanks for the information. I had no idea it was shot in Europe… I guess you guys are just getting screwed then? lol
      -Honestly though- How many of the GREAT films and series on Channel 4 in Brittan do we EVER get to see? Dead Set didnt come here for years and was the best Zombie series until TWD- Utopia? First season is over and it isnt here… Personally I think that for the most part you guys have far better television The ONLY thing we have better is TWD and Game of Thrones.
      Even compare “being Human” between the Yank and Britt version- Ours sucks. I think you guys have many shows that never air here which are superior to most of the shit we are fed.
    - http://twitter.com/_P_H_9_3_ Paul Hill
      
      We need sky atlantic to watch american stuff usually… its subscription, any free tv here you get american shows on channel 5 thats about a year old
    - Guest Brit
      
      I don’t think that is the case of our production companies restricting sales over there, in most cases is going to be pretty much that no one wants to buy it in.
      
      The US media market share is very secular.
      
      If you are talking about the likes of the remake of The Office into a US version, that is hardly our fault… if anything this goes to prove that US market doesn’t want our shows, they want “their own” shows, made for their market.
      
      You might just be the minority sadly, however large that is compared to us over here.
      
      Just pirate it, we’re not mad bro…
    - user4life
      
      Hey, thanks for mentioning those shows. Gonna grab now.
    - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=518398165 Rob Welch
      
      Yes, I agree; in general Brits get much better, more intelligent programming. I just finished watching the British ‘Skins’ on Netflix. Absolutely awesome.
    - Artistic1
      
      I agree–I LOVE British TV/movies (I even like that their actors look more like REAL people). I wish we’d follow their examples. How many great Brit shows have Americans ruined with their “reboots”? I wish I could stream BBC here in the U.S. We can’t even stream from BBC America. What’s the deal with that?
- JG
  
  There’s one decent reason for a less-than-24hr-delay…. To allow countries in different time zones to show the show at “the same time” – or at least in a corresponding block. Game Of Thrones isn’t exactly a little kid friendly show. If HBO mandated the other 176 territories started their airings at the exact same second HBO started in the states, depending on the location, your 5 year old child could potentially accidentally tune into it while looking for their daily pre-school Sesame Street episode, or maybe it’ll air while Junior is watching TV after school until you get home from work…. With the delay, each territory can wait until their watershed time to air the show. That and, if it it airs at 10pm in the States, it’d hit at like 3am in the UK, when everyone is asleep. If they wait till 10pm UK time, ratings will be much higher…..
  - leexgx
    
    it would be aired at there correct time in there zones, so it would be aired around 24hrs after to air them shows around the world at there respected times (9-10PM),
    1 week later they mayhad not even Bother to air it around the world as most would of even watched it
  - Henrik
    
    Also, most european countries add subtitles.
    - Guest
      
      no, they’re not.
    - Scary_Devil_Monastery
      
      At least in Germany they simply dub the movie.
      
      Now, for the german pirates reaction to that, see the downloading statistics.
    - JG
      
      If they know where it’s going to be released before, I wouldn’t think it’d add that much extra time… In fact, most of the work could even be done while the show is still being filmed.
      
      It generally takes about a week to go from initial read-through of the script to last shoot. During that time, translators could get the script translated into whatever languages they need.
      
      They’d basically only need to do subtitles once. All they need to do is figure out when each block of text appears on screen. Once they have the timing down, it’d just be replacing the text from the English script with text from the Spanish script, and then text from the German script….
      
      And it only takes about a day for voice actors to come in & record the dialog in the various languages needed. I’d assume professionals have some neat computer program that’ll help them sync up and over lay the new language over the English track.
  - bobmail
    
    There is more than the 24 hour window you have to look at, you also have to look at how the TV and lifestyle schedule might fit together. Some countries tend to cluster all the good TV around certainly nights (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) while the US tends to do the opposite, treating the weekends like dirtville, and playing all the good stuff during the week. It’s not practical to assume that every market would play the same material within 24 hours.
    
    Further, as Henrik points out, you have the issues of subtitling in different countries, and for some, there may be issues of editing content (to remove graphic violence, example, or to remove scenes suggestive of sex in some shows), or for that matter to dub voices in the local dialect.
    
    The programming may be distributed differently as well. In some markets, what appears on a high end pay channel in the US might play OTA in other markets. Of for that matter, the content may be available only through PPV or on demand style services.
    
    The balance is simple: They have to look at the income from those sources, compared to the income of hustling the release online and somehow trying to make money back that way. Online so far just isn’t showing the type of money that makes this work out, at least from every story I have read on the subject.
    - Parasite
      
      “There is more than the 24 hour window you have to look at, you also have to look at how the TV and lifestyle schedule might fit together… It’s not practical to assume that every market would play the same material within 24 hours.”
      
      For Internet streaming, that’s irrelevant: each person is able to choose when _he_ wants to watch after release. Programming/schedule issues should not exist.
      
      For TV it might be relevant, but they should release worldwide simultaneously as well and it’s up to each channel to decide when to air it.
      
      “Further, as Henrik points out, you have the issues of subtitling in different countries, and for some, there may be issues of editing content (to remove graphic violence, example, or to remove scenes suggestive of sex in some shows), or for that matter to dub voices in the local dialect.”
      
      Subtitling and the other things you mention are part of what’s called “post-production”. I’m sure there are always delays between anything being ready and being released on the US, so there’s plenty of time for subtitling and whatnot _before_ the US release.
      
      “The programming may be distributed differently as well. In some markets, what appears on a high end pay channel in the US might play OTA in other markets. Of for that matter, the content may be available only through PPV or on demand style services.”
      
      Yes, true, there might be economical constraints (in terms of profit maximization) that may justify delays. Then again, it might also impact profits in other unintended ways (e.g. people getting impatient/pissed and just “pirating” it anyway). But, yeah… that’s for them to decide.
      
      “The balance is simple: They have to look at the income from those sources, compared to the income of hustling the release online and somehow trying to make money back that way. Online so far just isn’t showing the type of money that makes this work out, at least from every story I have read on the subject.”
      
      That’s true, particularly if you see companies are purely profit-driven “machines” (i.e. purely rational economic agents). They _should_ do whatever possible to maximize gains. And, yes, it might be true that the old model of release (i.e. TV) might bring them more profits than a worldwide Internet release type of thing. The problem is, if you take your model further and assume that people also behave as mostly rational economic agents, and given that often there simply AREN’T online legal alternatives, and given that e.g. streaming (from the point-of-view of the “consumer”) is basically almost always legal, even if the agent providing the stream doesn’t have an explicit license to do it, there’s no reason for someone to do anything other than resort to piracy.
      
      How can it be “theft”, if the market isn’t even being served? Personally, I’ve never watched this show (pirated or otherwise), but if I wanted to see it, I would have NO OTHER CHOICE but to pirate it.
      
      So, you see… HBO might have no rational reasons (in terms of short-term profits) to provide an online stream of their shows, but then consumers mostly have no rational economical reasons NOT to pirate. And, in the long-term, that just perpetuates people’s reliance on “piracy” for their media.
      
      TL;DR: This is not how they’ll “kill piracy”, for sure.
    - Anyone
      
      TV schedule is dead
      
      I want to watch a show when I want to watch it, not when the TV says I can watch it
  - Artistic1
    
    Oh yes–we must protect the children! “Snark”.
    
    I took away my kid’s TV for over a year (poor deprived babies) and periodically thereafter as needed–though usually the threat was enough as they knew I’d do it. Not because of content (I rarely censored but I DID watch with them and watched their reactions to judge what was appropriate-and used content as a great launchpad for discussions. “Rescue 911″ was required viewing in my house, for example, and I mean that literally (even though my children were both significantly younger than the “suggested” age group). I didn’t require “educational” TV, but used entertainment AS educational TV. My approach worked worked well; much better than some stranger judging what was “age appropriate” for my children). On the other hand, I temporarily ousted TV because they were getting too dependent on it (well, the younger one was) and didn’t want to do anything else.
    
    My point, well, now that I think of it–I really don’t have one relevant to the main discussion. Then again this particular conversation line isn’t really relevant either given that so much TV is on-demand (either from the provider or through technology) these days.
    
    Addiction! Addiction! Must protect the children!
    
    Hmmm, if current technology had existed I could have downloaded and saved the entire broadcast life of “Rescue 911″….for my GRANDCHILDREN (cue evil laugh)
- Kite
  
  if this is a basis to “hate Americans” your thinking is a bit flawed. I am an American but believe it or not I have no control over what or when HBO releases anything to anyone. If I had the appropriate graphics card I would gladly upload each and every show the second it was run, for all to see. But please stop blaming all Americans for the actions of a greedy corporation.
  - ShEsHy
    
    Shouldn’t by now USA be called USA Inc.? Since it’s quite clear that over there, corporations have more rights than people.
  - Guest
    
    you have to understand: our hate pointed towards ignorant bald heads, who think “YE AMERICA #1, THAT’S HOW IT SHOULD BE” tolerating this idiocy and cash-whores like that CEO of HBO, not you (self aware sane people)
    
    :)
- Windlasher
  
  uhhh because it’s an American company and made with American money. You are bitching about America while you beg to see an American produced title. What the fuck is your problem? Dumbass!
- utuxia
  
  They are probably making more money sueing people for downloading it illegally then they would be releasing it ala carte. At least that’s their mentality.
- xmichaelx
  
  Why don’t you make your own wildly successful cable movie network, and then you can show movies to whoever you want in the order you prefer?
  
  (And more on-topic: I pirated the first few episodes and then bought the BluRay.)
exscape

HBO Nordic claims you’ll get the content “just hours” after the US showing. If that turns out true, I’ll pay the 79 SEK/month (~$12.5) just for Game of Thrones. The timing *does* matter a lot, though. Even though they feel that a week isn’t a long time, it *matters* when you want to discuss the show with others. Discussing what to others is the previous episode just isn’t the same.
- mika
  
  Here in finland it’s like 12-16 hour delay after orginal airing. Not bad at all.
- DiD
  
  It’s 1.5 months in Germany apparently
  - kii
    
    Where did you get that info? It starts may 19th on Sky Antantaic HD.
    - Anyone
      
      that’s about 1.5 months after March 31st ;)
JordanKratz

HBO you will still make people wait for the stuff they want.you will also put shit DRM on it.
And you are also a big part of the MAFIAA Forces.
http://twitter.com/Paco420_Pt Paco420

Mehh… Never liked GoT anyway nor do I watch the show… Watched the first 3 ep’s and personally felt it kinda dumb.

Clearly the director is a good man and understands (kinda) how the world/internet works, unfortunately its also clear that some of the actors are ignorant and blinded by the corrupt system of the US.
- Slashfund
  
  Yeah, where do I send the bill for the wasted wear-and-tear on my hard drive?
  - http://twitter.com/Paco420_Pt Paco420
    
    Try contacting the director he might help you. Don’t contact the producers as they will just send you a bill for sending them requests.
Pelham123

“In addition, it’s not ideal that some people have to buy a full HBO subscription just to see one show.”

More than that. They have to purchase an expensive extended cable package also.

$30 total for Game of Thrones hassle-free as it’s released isn’t bad. But $240, plus the hassle of subscribing and unsubscribing to the big machine, getting and returning the new equipment, haggling over “installation” fees, etc. is no sale. I’d rather “just do without” if those are my only two choices.

Also, saying that something is stealing “at the end of the day” is saying you KNOW it’s not stealing, regardless of how it feels one way or the other. The actor is in a tough spot because he doesn’t want to get yelled at by his bosses, and he still couldn’t condemn it.
hmmm

dont know why i never saw a single episode of that serie.
- Guest
  
  Because it sucks.
yada yada yada

Its like same BS over and over and over….. These corporations need to adapt and offer what we want and stop force feeding us they way they want. I dont even watch the show, but I watch many others… Fortunatelly they can suck on this 8===> thanks to good vpn and great folks making it available for all of us we will enjoy all we want for now. Lets stay vigilant and fight back not just play cat and mouse… just saying….
scott

HBO has an opportunity to take a huge leap forward in at least reducing the impact of piracy when it comes to tv shows and movies and really set an example to the rest of the industry on how they should handle things in the future.

Make your content available online immediately after live airing. Put in either full subscription rates for all shows or on a per show basis. Could even put in a download option that when totaled for all episodes would equal or be slightly less than the cost of buying the dvd.
Are they realy that ignorant?

If the actors and actress’s this ignorant about “piracy” than I will not buy anything that has to do with game of thrownes, and I will also not pirate the show. Good luck making money now you dumb ducks.
- Artistic1
  
  You won’t watch a show because the ACTORS aren’t educated about Piracy? Are you kidding me? Do you also refuse to watch shows with actors that disagree with your politics, or don’t share your religion?
http://twitter.com/djrickz Rick Z

When will the RIAA, MPAA and the Cable networks learn their thinking is as old as CBS. Case in point…”House of Cards” did very well for Netflix and offered many a reason to continue their subscription. I was ready to cancel but gave the show a chance and with more quality shows on the way for $7.99 a month it is well worth it. How much is it to subscribe to even a basic TV subscription for a wasteland of TV Channels and a few good shows. Once you sign up does your bill ever seem to decrease or somehow end up pushing over hundred bucks a month? Now imagine if all the Networks actually worked together and created an online, all you can watch, easy to use system that costs a fair price circumventing the evil price gouging Cable monopolies. A paid Pirate Bay like system. Would people pay a fair amount a month to watch all the shows legally. Many would and yet the Industry still can’t get their head out of their ass how many years later since Napster’s demise? Before and since Napster there have been a myriad of different ways people get their media for free. IF Pirate Bay goes down there will be a replacement. There will always be a way to illegally obtain what people want – short of turning the internet off – technology will prevail. It seems they will never understand. The mentality of criminalizing music and movie downloads is really ludicrous. One day will we look back and think about people being fined millions for downloading music & movies. It’s laughable. There was a time when a true artist created because that was their passion and if they got paid great. We have created an industry of greed & control. Artists should definitely get paid! Yet the industry has created this war based on fans and criminalizing them for wanting to enjoy their creations. Is media one day only going to be for those who can afford the content? Leaving the rest of us in the dust to figure out how we can enjoy all the media as well. Looks like it already has. Let’s not forget how much a CD or DVD in general costs. If someone really wants to consume a lot of entertainment can they afford to buy everything they like? The fact the Game of Thrones is the most pirated show should tell HBO to offer direct subscriptions to their Network or Shows. But no they still are thinking about it. Complete idiocy. The people who want to sue, shut down or destroy any way consumers get free media make their millions and seem to forget the value ten dollars may mean to the rest of us!
- Guest
  
  They could create a system just as you described, charge a dollar a month for it and pirates would still pirate. Maybe not you but the other 99 percent would because it’s not about money, anyone’s rights or any moral issues at all. It’s about the fact that you’ve found a way to get free shit.
  - Derpderp
    
    That’s called a sunk cost. It’s not even worth considering, a Percentage will always refuse to pay or go without, the key is capturing the biggest possible slice of available pie, not lamenting the non profitable hardcore pirates, who are beyond that form of marketing.
  - Glib
    
    That would be like not opening a retail store because people will steal. Sure, those thieves suck, but make your shop worth the effort and most will buy.
    - 7th_Guest
      
      Precisely! People advocating continued, stubborn resistance to massive customer empowerment change that the Web has brought about from the side of the TV and movie production companies while piracy keeps chugging alongside by invoking the impossibility of a Magic Bullet cure-all solution are merely employing the most flimsy thin, obvious and transparent logical fallacy as an excuse for inaction.
      
      No new law or policy change anywhere around the world would ever be adopted if the necessary standard they’d have to pass before being instated to battle whatever problem was placed at the absolute maximum degree of 100% solution, immediately. Most of the solutions ppl come up with are incremental treatments of long standing issues and there’s no logical reason to demand this one be the exception; you know, short of the obvious Big Content control-preserving obsession agenda still at play over at Hollywood of course.
  - http://twitter.com/djrickz Rick Z
    
    My point was yes there will always be a way that people will download media for free and will continue to do it BUT if the media companies could get their shit together less people would be likely to download “as much” for free. The Pirate Bay exists now and ITunes and Netflix continue to do business. While these services are good they still don’t offer the best option, something like TPB. The cable companies have too much power. What would happen if they offered channels a la cart at a reasonable rate instead of 200 channel or a main resource to stream. The fact remains that the media companies are stuck doing business in such an antiquated way that they can’t see their ass from their balls. If they had worked with Napster, any P2P, the Pirate bay things would not be AS Pirated. Why is Comcast continually losing customers? Some people will always Pirate but I seriously doubt six strikes is going to work. They keep making the consumer the enemy instead of the “customer”. Maybe the customer is always right. There is a way it could be done right and thinking it couldn’t only feeds into the idea that they will always have to sue, torment and fine any pirating. I agree with the comment below it’s like saying don’t open a store because some will steal. I think there is a place for the Pirate Bay but what they are doing is only bringing it more attention and new users. Good Marketing for the Pirate Bay for free. They missed the boat long ago. It’s ironic they can get all the ISP’s to do their dirty work with the six strikes but yet still cant come up with a good solution. Dohhh!
  - Scary_Devil_Monastery
    
    “Maybe not you but the other 99 percent would because it’s not about
    money, anyone’s rights or any moral issues at all. It’s about the fact
    that you’ve found a way to get free shit.”
    
    I just discovered we have running water AND a soda streamer in the office. I think I’ll have to call the bottled water manufacturers and tell them their services aren’t needed anymore.
    
    Or possibly ask them to refill the vending machine which keeps running empty.
    
    Any other comparisons you’d care to make? Because the ‘can’t compete with free’ argument only means you fail marketing…at grade-school level.
    
    Now, for a more modern version we might look at how every effort made by the copyright enforcement industry to reduce piracy failed. Until Spotify was launched at which time music piracy dropped by 25%.
    
    There are solutions out there, quite obviously. If you don’t see them that is not our problem.
- Scary_Devil_Monastery
  
  Pretty good summary.
  
  And now let me introduce you to the ‘enter’ key.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Gear-Mentation/100003097514663 Gear Mentation

LOL, why on earth should anyone wait 24 hours? Oh, I forget, electrons are so slow.
- http://twitter.com/CkVega Adam Astles
  
  Technically, electrons are slow, they travel through a 1mm copper wire with 10 amps at about 0.024 cm/sec
al bedoya

“We think the key to combating piracy is to make content like Game of
Thrones available worldwide within the smallest window possible…to 176
territories within the week of the U.S. premiere,”

That would have been somewhat insightful a couple of years ago, but now it’s too late. It’s too enjoyable to take it for free.
- Scary_Devil_Monastery
  
  “That would have been somewhat insightful a couple of years ago, but now it’s too late. It’s too enjoyable to take it for free.”
  
  A few years ago that would have been a game-breaker handing the market over to HBO lock, stock and barrel.
  
  But you’re right, that window’s closed. Today copyright enforcement leaves so odious a trail avoiding handing a single cent to the prime malefactors has literally become an act of civil disobedience.
  
  The ‘entertainment industry’ is very rapidly generating a rep for themselves as bad as that of Enron.
ralph

“We think the key to combating piracy is to make content like Game of
Thrones available worldwide within the smallest window possible…to 176
territories within the week of the U.S. premiere,”

Too little way too late. Same day release or nothing.
Gae

If the demand for pre-release piracy is as high as it is, I don’t see ‘only’ a few weeks delay helping much.

When everybody around you is discussing the latest episode you do not want to wait a month to be able to see what they were talking about…
http://www.facebook.com/forkingham.melle Forkingham Melle

piracy doesn’t hurt. hitting your hand with a hammer does! that is what they are doing,metaphorically speaking
- Artistic1
  
  Aye!
http://profiles.google.com/markdz71 Mark Dz

“In addition, it’s not ideal that some people have to buy a full HBO subscription just to see one show. To many people this feels like a waste of money. After all, you don’t buy a full car if you only need the rims.
”

LOVE IT and so true. LIke albums in the 80′s. You’d buy a crap CD or cassette just for one song. How did that work out?
- Artistic1
  
  Well, while I didn’t have the money to buy many albums at all, I was often pleasantly surprised to discover great songs on released albums that never got any airplay at all. Many of those songs weren’t just “fillers”. I am pleased to say that the internet helps overcome the inadvertent “censorship” of relying on the studios to decide what for-profit Radio stations should play. Does anyone know if ANY one album ever had more than one song playing on the air at the same time? If so, it was very rare for that to happen. So, in that sense losing album sales is a double-edged sword (though thankfully, albums still exist). Fortunately, the internet helps overcome that particular loss–Except now people can miss out because there’s just so MUCH choice. You could spend decades listening to all of the music available on Spotify alone, without repeating a single song.
tseug

never seen a single episode of this show
- Sam Houston
  
  Thanks for stopping by.
midas

>For their part HBO admit they are somewhat to ‘blame’ for Game of Thrones’ high piracy rates.
>Somewhat.

I CAN NOT view it legally. So it’s more like…. entirely.
- Guest
  
  Well, not entirely. I could get it legally, but I choose not to. That one is not entirely on them.
- Mats Holdt
  
  I suppose that if I wanted to watch it it I’d have to fly overseas and buy a DVD/Blu-Ray collection. Way to embrace new technology, HBO!
Anon

It’s not just tv. Musicians like Reznor and RadioHead are on to your thieving nonsense, too.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/4/4054634/musics-pay-what-you-want-pioneers-sour-on-giving-away-songs

Piracy is so 2005.
- Wallace
  
  The link has nothing to do with piracy.
  
  Don’t ever, ever, ever pretend you support artists. We are on to YOU.
  - Anon
    
    Reznors model and RadioHeads ‘give it away’ strategies were BOTH attempts at dealing with piracy, and BOTH expected pirate “fans” to pay. Now BOTH are returning to labels for protection from the likes of you. Either you are a sophist or you don’t know your piracy/copyright history. Either way, that link has EVERYTHING to do with failed attempts at finding revenue around piracy and now TV is catching on, too. Nice try.
    - Who
      
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKX00OKfdFM&list=FLZehVWSPOf0z-_wN9Wzr-IQ&feature=mh_lolz
    - Fleabeard
      
      AYE….I know an asshole when I see one.
    - Kal
      
      Nine Inch Nails made over $1.6 million on Ghosts I-IV, and that shit was released under a Creative Commons License. Derp.
    - Kal
      
      You’re also being disingenuous to claim that it was released under a BY-NC-SA license in order to stop piracy. If you want to stop piracy, the first thing you should do is figure out how to make it harder to copy bits. Which would be like trying to figure out how to make water less wet.
      
      Reality check: the choice to use the pay-what-you-want model had nothing to do with piracy.
      
      http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/8095
      
      “This music arrived unexpectedly as the result of an experiment. The rules were as follows: 10 weeks, no clear agenda, no overthinking, everything driven by impulse. Whatever happens during that time gets released as… something.”
      
      It’s possible (even likely!) that you are totally full of shit. This is consistent with the fact that Humble Bundle consistently makes good money on DRM-free content under the pay-what-you-want business model. Stay classy, MAFIAA drone.
    - Guest
      
      Trent Reznor and Radiohead made millions of dollars from their ‘give it away’ strategy, directly, without any middleman stealing a single penny of it.
      
      Saying they’re returning to the labels because said strategy failed, when in reality it wildly succeeded, makes you a lying cuntstain.
      
      Which is hardly a surprise given that MAFIAA employees are inherently lying cuntstains.
      
      I don’t know why they’re going back to labels(I guess they like having their money stolen?), but neither do you. One thing is for certain, however, it isn’t because of piracy or because they weren’t able to monetize free music.
      
      Go crawl back under Cary Sherman’s desk, mmkay?
    - Scary_Devil_Monastery
      
      “Now BOTH are returning to labels for protection from the likes of you.”
      
      Actually, none of them are. As anyone who actually reads the article instead of taking your refabricated version of it can tell.
      
      As far as I can see and judging from what trent actually said the reason he’s back with a label – under his OWN terms – is because he wants the marketing engine and accept a certain slice out of his profits.
      
      As usual, Baghdad Bob, spin, outright lies, and some history revisionism. All meant to convince people no column of US tanks is rolling down the streets of Baghdad.
      
      I’ll tell you what will fail. Any attempt made by the middleman industry to find revenue. That has been the model for every other business as well, so at long last it’s now your turn.
- Anon is stupid
  
  ‘thieving’
- Scary_Devil_Monastery
  
  Nice title. Too bad the gist of it is all about how artists are finding Spotify and similar services unsatisfactory.
  
  Well, duh. Spotify adds yet one more double dip if you’re with a label.
  
  Secondly, did you miss the part where trent actually isn’t retracting a single word he said in 2008?
  
  I think you did.
  
  So an entertainment industry journal publishes a heavily spun article under a very misleading title, informing people the current subscription services are bad for artists.
  
  Well, duh, Sherlock. That’s only what every critic of Spotify has said so far.
Guest

damn
http://techfleece.com/ Richard Gailey

“to 176 territories within the week of the U.S. premiere,” Cusson says.”

Still doesn’t get it then. In a week I can guarantee that what happened in the episode would have been spoiled (probably the second they went on-line) for those people who are only able to view the delayed episode.

Just make content available to everyone at a reasonable price and within a couple of hours of it airing. We live in a time where a lot of people now have unprecedented access to technology that can make this so simple to achieve. Is it really that bloody hard?
bubanee

Well i’m with the director… I knew nothing of this show until recently.. i grabbed both series thus far and loved it… so i went and bought the physicals of it… +1
rummeltje

I find a bit later no problem, if they’ll accept that I only pay half and two weeks late
Chuck U. Farley

That’s bullshit that ANY piracy hurts sales. If I like a show and happen to miss an episode,I will download it. But I will also buy the season (or movie) when it comes out on BluRay/DVD.. I like to have the original w/case for my collection. I’ve got close to 1600 movies and seasons of shows. Fcuk Hollywood.
- Amused
  
  I have a Sky subscription which includes the Sky Atlantic channel which airs Game of Thrones so I have paid for it. I still download every episode and other titles as well to store on a hard drive cause I cannot imagine where in my home I would have space to store and display everything I have in my collection in physical form. I can imagine 1600 DVDs would make your home look like a rentals store.
- ew
  
  i beat u i have 400+ blu ray titles and over 6000+ dvd titles (also including a full season as a title) and i download as well
Joe Deacon

‘Game of Thrones’ early DVD sales breaking HBO records: http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/02/22/game-of-thrones-dvd-sales-breaking-hbo-records/

Clearly fans of GoT are responsible enough to support the show through DVD/Bluray sales.
Zayne

Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think all the blame should go to the studios. From what I know of my own country and I’m sure a lot of others these things have to go through like a Film and Publication board before it is broadcast which could also delay screening.
dlovin123

How about you offer a $3.00 download per episode or something like that. I would gladly pay a small fee to download a high quality episode, you can even include commercials fuck I don’t care.

I just don’t want to have to pay for cable tv, and then subscribe to HBO, just to watch ONE FUCKING SHOW.
- downloader
  
  that’s just IT. they don’t give a flying fucking shit about what you want.
- TheyAreNotStupid
  
  If you only watch a couple of shows then yes but at $3.00 per show someone who watches alot of TV would be better of with TV being delivered as it it. You do realise iTunes is usually more expensive than buying the DVD’s and sometimes even the Blu-Ray’s.
  
  I don’t think most people realise how much these companies actually get from advertising. A 30 second slot in Two And A Half Men during it’s hey day would have cost $625,000 that rakes in $5,000,000 per episode. How do you think they could afford to pay Charlie Sheen $1,000,000 per episode. My guess is for them to make that sort of money they would have to sell each episode on iTunes for $10 – $15. Perhaps that’s why they are so reluctant to change their bussiness model.
- Artistic1
  
  That’s too much. Unless you get to keep it forever, and do whatever you want with it–you know, download it on any device, watch it whenever and wherever you want (restrictions unfortunately all-too-common with legally purchased/rented episodes of anything)….and at that price it definitely shouldn’t include ads. For a 10 episode season you’d pay $30, or 3 times as much as signing up for HBO a month (based on current cable rates locally). However, that’s not counting the cost of expanded basic cable that you HAVE to buy in order to purchase HBO. Which brings us back to the whole issue of being strong-armed into paying a “bundle” (and I use that term deliberately) for services we don’t want or need in order to purchase what is desired. And the BIGGEST problem is the lack of competition in so many areas, there’s been no incentive for the cable companies (and I’m including Satellite here) to change–until now.
Absent

As far as viewing figures go. I would think piracy doesn’t make any difference unless you’re a household that takes part in the Nielsen ratings surveys. If you’re not one of these household it doesn’t matter what you watch, nobody knows if you watched Game of Thrones or not.
uurnge

so the Kingslayer has a problem with piracy….
wargamer1969

Ha why pay $10+ a month for HBO when you can torrent it for free…Should be happy people are watching the show, thats more than you can say for alot of garbage on tv these days. I’ve never watched it but I don’t get AMC either and love my Walking Dead every week…
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ender-Wiggin/100000885624281 Ender Wiggin

lmao, i stopped reading at “very shortly” after the us release. the torrents up ten minutes after the show airs, beat that or go home.
manxtanx

How much money does HBO need to have to be happy lol. Amaziong.

EliteProxy.da.bz
- frozar
  
  Any publicly traded company has one mandate: grow every quarter. They’re not satisfied with profit. Investors who bought stock today are expecting a higher value tomorrow. Making more money allows for more investment, but not all investments make money.
http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/RKKPBJMHI22ZE7BO2BHOFA3TMM Volker

HBO simply doesn’t get it
- Anon
  
  None of them get it. History always repeats itself. Look at all their blockades to new technology that they concede to later. Pathetic.
  - Scary_Devil_Monastery
    
    MPAA when TV is invented “This will be the death of us”
    MPAA when Cable is invented “This will be the death of us”
    MPAA when Cable is rejected in favor of satellite “This will be the death of us”.
    
    And that’s more or less the same chant their spiritual predecessors were going with when the big adversary was the printing press.
AnAmerican

I guess I been living under a rock. I’m an american and also have a hbo subscription but have never seen a single episode lol. [ must be on after my bedtime] But again another + mark to the column where filesharing does help benefit the content creators by bringing the content in front of us to discuss before we do our parts as consumers. now off to amazon to see if the first 2 seasons are reasonable on bluray to buy.
Kreth

1 hour later than i can see it in hd is too long for me
@mactasvr

Read all the books and you wont have any PROBLEM WITH HBO for at least 8 more years, besides the books are more entertaining
- frozar
  
  I read the books too. However HBO has done an outstanding job with making the book show well on TV. It’s a paradise for good actors due to the number of characters needed for it.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Frank-White/100002970542124 Frank White

HBO also needs to offer its streaming service to NON-cable/satellite subscribers. There’s a growing number of people who are cutting out their cable subscriptions altogether because of the ever increasing price-gouging and they’re not about to order a basic TV package and a premium movie tier on top of that just to have access to one or two shows a week. If HBO offered each episode for streaming to anyone who wanted it, for a very reasonable price, like from $1 to a $1.50, I think they’d make a killing. That’s not much per person, but a few million would add up. ;)
frozar

Not surprising. HBO has been tough on piracy for their entire existence and it started with blocking satellites tapping into the signal. One of the directors was merely stating his opinion because he doesn’t own the show and is not the one paying for it.

We’ll just keep doing what we do and they’ll keep doing what they do. Business as usual.

I don’t make a habit out of paying for something I don’t use; basic cable and premium channels boil down to paying for 99% of what you don’t even use. It’s an outdated system IMO. I’m all about paying for content but not for bloat.
- Who
  
  “Not surprising. HBO has been tough on piracy for their entire existence
  and it started with blocking satellites tapping into the signal”
  
  dude this shit has been going on for YEARS. BTW you CAN still get boxes that lets you get the services for free. so they can block it all they want, some one will get around it every time.
Not stealing

Love it always saying its stealing
Not it is not its is copying at what point do they have the show taken they are still receiving money so how can it be stealing?
Love the way they are so brainwashed by the studios and the publicity
Pingback: HBO, Game of Thrones & Piracy | Marci Sischo
contribuorM

IfIi miss the episode, i will see it through other means. ASAP
Olaf

Within the week, hell, within days isn’t good enough.

The show would need to be aired within an hour from the ‘original’ HBO premiere in order to have the most effect on piracy. Two or three hours later isn’t good enough for many people.
Also, the arguement about not buying a car if you only need the wheels works the same with this. You aren’t going to wait ‘a few days’ for your rental car if you can get it about an hour after being told it’s available.
Andrew Lee

Yeah it’s so bad they’re all living in trailer parks on welfare.
Anon

In my country only way to watch it is by buying HBO subscription or buy DVD/Blu-Ray so I will pirate it as I have no other real alternative They are forcing me to pirate it.
Caspin

I know nobody here says this ever, but I just think it’s fun to watch shows for free instead of handing money over to multimillionaires who have monopolized the airwaves. They all can bite me. And watching shows isn’t illegal, nor does it hurt anyone, so fuck them. It’s time for a revolution.
Phil Landry

And still, guess what, Season 3 of GOT probably will be next year’s biggest downloaded show… Again! (Or at least top 5) File sharing isn’t gonna stop, the soonest they adapt to it, the soonest they’ll stop complaining about it!
yihret

you know nothing HBO!
sdfg

Pirating is the only way I’ll get to watch it
thenutman69321

Lol within a week? I guess it’s a little better but if you don’t have it simultaneously in all regions then this probably will change very little in terms of downloads.
JTShiro

This is going to accomplish litte, a real solution is to either make HBO Go a standalone service all over the world, or make it widely available on itunes
Tus-Chan

Geez, guys. Why can’t any of you be happy that they’re finally starting to accommodate the problems that are supposedly the reason that piracy exists? The way some people on here are reacting, they’re only serving to prove right what the copyright industry has been claiming all along; that we’re a bunch of entitled thieves.

I love ya Torrentfreak, but some of the commenters need an attitude adjustment.
- Anon
  
  Or a brief jail sentence. It’s coming. Nothing’s ever changed in pirate mentality. Only the authorities are drawing closer. Look around. :-)
  - Guest
    
    “It’s coming”
    
    lol
    
    That’s what you’ve been saying for over half a decade, chief. If you think your prophesies of doom are credible, you are very, hilariously mistaken.
    - Guest
      
      The guy can’t make up his mind. He can’t decide whether there are more or less pirates breaking more or less law or hiding or not hiding over the last two or five or ten years.
      
      He’s got Cary Sherman’s baby batter drizzling out of his ears, and it’s hard to think with all that brain damage. Meanwhile people will resort to trading hard disk drives and we can hear the symphony of him gnashing his teeth (followed by the pained yelp of Cary Sherman).
  - Scary_Devil_Monastery
    
    Ah, yes.
    
    This is why hordes of pirates are led in chains singing “hoist the colors” before the gallows?
    
    No wait, that’s your personal la-la land again. In the real world it’s apparently still as likely to get accused of filesharing as it is to get struck by lightning.
    
    “Or a brief jail sentence.”
    
    After which the lesson is learned to use the simple easy steps of encryption and anonymization. And of course, neither jails nor fines enable you to shunt any of your cash flow into copyright church coffers, so any actual “sentencing” is a heavy motivation to pirate further.
    
    “Only the authorities are drawing closer. Look around…”
    
    OK…now, what I see is “authorities” have proven so resistant to your church’s latest gambits the only option you know retain is that old standby of mass extortion suits and threat of lawsuits you gave up a few years ago as a bad job. This time along with “voluntary” six-strikes agreements apt to be rather less effective than HADOPI while offering casual pranksters a lot of funtime.
    
    I.e. I see tons of bad press and no gains for you guys. As usual.
    
    “:-)”
    
    No encouragement needed, dear Baghdad Bob. On reading your latest little pearl i spontaneously went XD.
  - bobmail
    
    (Only the authorities are drawing closer. Look around)
    
    Careful troll your nazi tendencies are coming to the surface.
    - Anon
      
      Stop it bobby you’re trolling the wrong troll.
    - bobmail
      
      OOPs sorry buddy
KingKONG !!!

I don’t get it !!! If you want to stop people from downloading your show, THEN STOP THE PEOPLE THAT UPLOAD IT !!! – it’s not the host-site or the downloader that is stealing it… it’s the individual (or organized individuals – as in RICO – or countries) that takes it OFF the air and gives it away for the purpose of profit or reward. Granted, if I buy and own [outright] a Corvette, I can give it to whomever I want; I can NOT, however, got around making Corvettes, and giving them away for free or a price. Having a knockoff isn’t a crime… making and marketing knockoffs without permission, is !!!
- joexxx
  
  You can give Corvettes away for free.
- Scary_Devil_Monastery
  
  Problem is, commercialized copying has nothing to do with this.
  
  Modern “piracy” isn’t about making bootlegs. It’s about individual A getting to make a copy of a disc belonging to person C.
  
  And then some guy like “Anon”, bobmail, or nonamthanks shows up screaming “Thief! Pirate! Punishment!!”.
Shogunreaper

Someone educate these actors, its not stealing.
- joexxx
  
  Will be a waste of time. They’re not capable of learning. Otherwise they won’t be actors.
  - Artistic1
    
    That’s ridiculous. You aren’t helping the discussion at all by insulting people.
Guest

I’m surprised actors can see what’s going on past their seven figure paychecks.
Masau Fuku

Game of Thrones is a show that I would definitely a subscription for if I could watch it on the same day as release from anywhere and from anything and didn’t have to pay for the full subscription to HBO (which last I checked would require also paying for cable, which I have no use for – I might be willing to pay for HBO GO if it was offered separate without a premium cable subscription).

But for now at least, I’ll continue to pirate it. And at some point, buy the DVD release.
MrGz0r

~guys at the end of the day its just a show,And hbo has lot of great shows
guest

Does it like really matter? Problems of a fat-ass society.
Anon

Apparently, HBO Brazil is airing Game of Thrones Season III the same day as the US. They say it is going to air in March, 31.
Probably not a simulcast, but at least it is less than 24 hours delay.
At least the official trailer airing on TV here says and in HBO Go both says 31/03/2013 (that would be 03/31/2012 in MM/DD/YYYY format)

It seems that Brazil is getting special treatment this time! And all thanks to piracy! (Piracy is pretty much common place in Brazil, so the only way to counter it is by airing the same day, see? That’s why piracy is good for you, me and everyone)
Romet6

What else could you expect from a Lannister : )
Blue

Sell me a 20-40$ pass to download a season for my own use as soon as they are aired in real time and I’ll consider it.
Guest

After the shit they pulled with Deadwood i would never get a subscription to HBO again. They couldnt afford one last episode to finalize it? After all people PAY for this network. I downloaded the show, it was fantastic and if not for that download i would not have gone out and bought the BR’s.
- Artistic1
  
  That’s what they seem to miss. How is this different from broadcast TV–oh wait, they’re trying to end that as well. Seriously, if they just went with it, they could sell their ads, make their money and everyone would be happy. Provide a paid option for the people that despise ads. Instead they’re alienating their own customer base and cutting off a massive number of potential customers. Stupid!
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Matías Guzmán

Retards
splatt

Without getting into spoilers. They ruined the show for me at the end of season one. I have no interest in season 2 because of that.

And more importantly HBO is insanely overpriced. You have to waste seventy dollars a month on cable just to get the “opportunity” to pay 10 or $15 for HBO. All so you can watch the same 40 crappy movies played over and over all month. All stuff that you could find in the $5 bin at you local retailer. And one or two shows.

And forget about the DVDs. They get somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 an episiode. HBO box set prices are ridiculous.

The real problem is how much it costs to access the content legally.
- Anyone
  
  you should have known, he dies in every show/film he is in
  it’s a running gag
John

Next season on Game of Thrones: The winter is over and the Lannister family embrases the Summers Eve® while enforcing their birth rights to the land of Budwiser®
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A-Tuin

They’re going to fail again. A week delay won’t be had by anyone wanting to watch it. There’s a world wide community of watchers, just seeing someone’s facebook/twitter update that’s watching the live broadcast will screw it over. If they’re not going to make it available at the same time as broadcast they at least need to beat the releasers so make it available straight after broadcast and don’t force people to buy a HBO subscription when they only want game of thrones.

Why do these companies try to force their business models to work, demand drives the supply and the world is not demanding a full HBO subscription!
Skip

“After all, you don’t buy a full car if you only need the rims.”

That’s…. a horrible analogy. Maybe the worst one I’ve ever heard. And I agree with you, mind you!
AnarchyNow

If they want to stop piracy, they just have to stop making useless shits and start to find a real productive job instead of waiting for money to pour out of thin air without giving ANYTHING in return!

EXTERMINATE BILLIONAIRES!
http://twitter.com/MNguyen88 Michael Nguyen

how about selling a online based subscription that would cost $4.99 a month and can only be able to access through online website. That way people who wanna see it right away can just pay $4.99 and watch it on their pc/laptop/tablet. That way you can still target the people that are watching the show illegally people behind a PC. And then you release it the same time as the american release.
Dook

Yep, enjoy your piracy, HBO. Artificial limitations just don’t work no more.
Guest

Fuck you Rose Leslie.

“At the end of the day it’s stealing. I know it doesn’t feel like it but it is, and it’s not right.”

It doesn’t feel like it because making a copy is not stealing.
- Who
  
  ya there stupid. says here http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/stealing…….. that stealing is to take (the property of another or others) without permission or right, especially secretly or by force.
  
  when you broadcast and some one records it and uploads it, this is defined under the US copy right act as fair use just as long as they do not personally profit off of it.
  
  when you sell a copy to another that copy is no longer your property “defined under US property right law” and IF that buyer decides to copy it and gives it to another person, this is STILL fair use as defined in the US copyright act as long as they are not gaining financially.
  
  so according to the definition of stealing, file sharing does NOT apply to its definition.
  
  also
  
  The Copyright Act provides for both civil and criminal liability for
  acts of copyright infringement. 17 U.S.C., Chapter 5. Infringement is a crime only where it is done “willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain.”
  
  please note as it says “ONLY” “AND” “OR” meaning that infringement is ONLY a crime when its is done willfully AND for the purposes of commercial advantage OR privet financial gain.
  
  lets break this down: “commercial advantage” what is this?
  the LEGAL definition of this is “the benefit of a business”
  this does NOT apply to individuals.
  
  ok so what is privet financial gain? well that’s simple, profiting off of or pocketing the money from the selling.
  
  shall I keep proving you wrong MPAA?
  - EveryWoman2535
    
    Under fair use (and established law) it is perfectly legal to make a copy or record for one’s own use. These corporations are eroding established copyright laws and the definition of “fair use”, to the detriment of their own customers, potential customers and innovation. Under fair use, or any market model these are not lost profits. Where is the theft? Moreover, in the case of actual loss, it seems to most often be to the actions of the companies themselves making it difficult or impossible for potential customers to access their products. Many of the downloaders wouldn’t have access even if they WANTED to pay. Most of the “lost profit” is quite imaginary which makes this whole issue quite different from the usual definition of “piracy”, let alone theft. Now if the P2P users were selling their downloads, that’s a whole different story, but that is not what is happening.
Guest

They only care about customers money. Vote with your wallet.
HateRegister

You mean actually embrace the internet and what it could do for them, instead of fight it?
BonxRonx

lol, what a bunch of retards. Do they really think that will do anything? I think not lol.

EliteProxy.da.bz
dropin

(HBO would rather stick to their full subscription model with its regional limitations)

The fools just shot themselves in the foot,again!!!
garyvdh

I would definitely buy one of those “Season Passes” and I’m sure a lot of other people would too.
http://geektv.ch/ Pitt Mclovin

i love game of thrones. and i love to download it in the net LoL
echoegami oh

If I could obtain it legally (without resorting to paying for cable tv which I refuse to do) I’d much rather do so. I am willing to wait until the day after an episode airs to watch it (as I currently do with other shows that allow free streaming through their websites) but I’m not going to wait a mother-effing week! WTF are they thinking? Give the consumer what they want or they will go elsewhere, in this case, to the piracy sites. FWIW, because of the awesomeness of the show I did go out and purchase all of the books and the season 1 DVD and plan to purchase season 2.
Mouseanony

Someone send Jaime Lannister a dictionary. Clearly needs to look up the word “theft” or “stealing”. Confirmation that actors don’t need a high IQ at all, just good looks (sometimes).
EjectDiskNow

So 4.3 million fans of the show. Figure out how to market to them, not punish them!
bob

So, now people have the possible honour of either being warned, threatened or possibly arrested for watching a tv show ONE WEEK BEFORE IT AIRS……..arrested/threatened/warned for watching telly to early……and they wonder why weve grown to detest THEIR ethics
asdf

Like I care about the opinion of a Lannister!
Peter

Give me a break!! I could see how 1 week could be bad, but to wait 24 hours is nothing. The show airs Sunday night, and you get to see it Monday night. It’s not the end of the effing world. It takes an hour or 2 for the copy to get online anyways, so by then most people are asleep seeing as its Sunday night so they have to be at work the next day. They can go about their lives like normal people and then watch it Monday night.

Anyone complaining that 24 hours is too long of a wait needs to re-check their priorities. Seriously. Plus having it available at the exact same time wouldn’t make sense because of this crazy concept called TIMEZONES!! It’s 3am in the UK/Europe when it airs in the USA. Most people are sleeping by then.

Having said that, a per-show subscription model would be an excellent idea.
http://twitter.com/StygianFoxHQ Stygian Fox

‘Territories’? The global fan base is leaving the bloated tv model behind. In the UK it’s on Sky Atlantic. A cable channel. You need a major subscription for just one show? Nah. It got 1 million viewers per episode in a country of 60 million. THATS the problem. If it was on the BBC it would go through the roof. Also, I view programmes on devices (chiefly my pc). I havent watched an actual tv for years. If it was available on bbc iplayer or 4od i’d watch it.
Trollslicer

There are no oceans on the internet… As has been said innumerable
times, “piracy” is a service issue, it’s not about money. I pay for HBO,
cable and buy the season sets on blu-ray. Still, a lot of the time I
still torrent episodes because sometimes I want to watch a show on my
own terms, on the device I want, the way I want. Most of the time
companies don’t do nearly enough to make their content available even
for paying customers…
Guest

Yeah, I have an HBO subscription.

Will still download it of TPB until I can watch it on 1080p, whenever I want and with the ability to pause and rewind on the TV. Basically, until the TV version is as good as the downloaded version, I’ll just pass on the TV’s episode and wait until it is uplaoded instead.
Paul

If you want me to watch it with ads, no problem. Stream it Online. I do not subscribe to antiquated cable TV anymore. It’s 2013, not 1960.
cakeiscakeandIforoneenjoythat

I see a lot of criticism and yes, this isn’t near the ideal answer to HBO’s tight distribution problems, however we finally have a Major Company saying they are going to combat piracy by attempting to expand access to the product rather than screaming they need to sue everyone. I think we shouldn’t take that for granted, but I’m sure others disagree with me.
alkarnur

We’re not pirating it, we’re paying the iron price.
engiiiiii

Many people pirate tv shows because its more convenient than waiting a for a whole month before you can watch it legally, so get that through your thick skull please.
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SicJake

When tv shows are available on itunes day of broadcast at $1 an episode, then, and only then will I stop pirating shows. It’s either that or HBO offers HBO Go internationally. I want cable content, just not the cable channels. I’ll pay for online only access ala netflix
frozar

Downloaded the audiobooks too COMEATMEBRO.jpg
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Xen11

If you don’t want people to watch a show you made to be watched and loved, then stop making it and get another job.

“Oh no, people are watching and loving this thing I helped make and released into the public. My show has become the most loved and most popular show in the past couple of years because people watched it. How dare they watch something that was intended to be watched? Now they are fans and have invested emotions and will probably buy the merchandising for many years to come. Woe is me.”
petrastanley

They are a victim of their own success, the whole concept of the consumer society is ‘I WANT IT AND I WANT IT NOW!!!!!!’ . Otherwise people won’t be conditioned to buy the latest IWiget or gazillion Hz PC to play minesweeper on.

If that’s what they want then they should put up with the fact that people will want what they are selling, and if they won’t cater to them then they shouldn’t moan if people take matters into their own hands :-)
Tim

HBO, you want to combat piracy? Allow people to subscribe to HBO Go without a fucking cable account. Boom! Not such a fucking hard mystery to solve now is it?
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Mediocrity rules !

So … Let me get this straight….

You LOVE a show that PROFESSIONALS have made, after investing years, if not decades of their life, honing their craft, learning not only what works, but what doesn’t work (more importantantly), having found and risked everything on an idea that might have traction, and then spending years and millions of dollars and euros executing and delivering a great show to you. You then want it for FREE, are pissed if you have to wait an extra week for it to get to you, and then, Gods of the Forest forbid, are so incensed at the inconvenience of it all, that you feel compelled to post this tripe, on a forum like this, for the world to see !

Hmmmm….. Sounds a lot like Kindergarten, temper tantrum, arrogant, ignorant, self delusional, entitlement crap to me!

It’s so funny to read these forums with statements like (grammar theirs); “Week after the premiere is NOT going to WORK! Jesus, get that in your head. People, we, consumers want it as SOON as it is available in the USA. God dammit, it’s like talking to a retarded people.” This, quite humorously stated, as if Creators and Entertainment Professionals owe them anything at all – for FREE even! It reminds me of a little kid in the candy store who has a temper tantrum because they can’t have ALL the candy available to them, RIGHT NOW, for free !

People who make statements like the one quoted above, have simply lost perspective. They have conveniently forgotten their place in order of things. Let me take a moment to set the record straight:
Hello people, you are CONSUMERS. That’s right. Your job is to PAY FOR and CONSUME the goods provided to you, by PROFESSIONALS (defined above)!
That’s it! That’s all! Shut up, and fulfill the role you have been groomed for! Buy it and enjoy it – or not -, but Shut The F**k Up about it, especially if you are watching or getting it for FREE !!!
Just look at the millions of hours of crap on YouTube generated by people who actually think they can make a show as well as, or better, then the show you love!

You LOVE this show, and shows like it, BECAUSE tens of thousands of man/woman hours of thought, creativity, work, sweat, agony, anxiety, reflection, experience, experimentation, and risk went into the making of it! (I know, this is something you conveniently are uncomfortable about being reminded of since doing so would force you to reflect on the mediocrity of your life. It is better for you to imagine it simply and magically showing up on your viewing device, like something you or your neighbour can make in an afternoon).

This show has fans all over the world BECAUSE the people involved with the show go way beyond the consumer, crowd sourced mediocrity that passes for talent and entertainment these days, and, by their daily attention to their craft, have fine honed a show and experience that exceeds most standards in entertainment today!

Quality, depth of experience, and excellence like this demands to be payed for IN FULL !! Save your quibbles about needing it for free for the tripe you see on YouTube.

So, if flailing about on the proverbial Internet floor in agony because your mediocre, pathetic, consumer life is not the way you want it to be, and by making ridiculous, absurd claims for better service and availability of a show you think you should have for free, on a forum like this, is the best you can do, then it’s time for you to either DO BETTER, or Shut the F**k up, step aside, pay the FULL PRICE of admission, and stay the F**k out of the way of the Professional Creators who make this world a better place to live in !
Yes … Even for pathetic Bottom Feeders like YOU !!!
Mediocrity rules !

So … Let me get this straight….

You LOVE a show that PROFESSIONALS have made, after investing years, if not decades of their life, honing their craft, learning not only what works, but what doesn’t work (more importantantly), having found and risked everything on an idea that might have traction, and then spending years and millions of dollars and euros executing and delivering a great show to you. You then want it for FREE, are pissed if you have to wait an extra week for it to get to you, and then, Gods of the Forest forbid, are so incensed at the inconvenience of it all, that you feel compelled to post this tripe, on a forum like this, for the world to see !

Hmmmm….. Sounds a lot like Kindergarten, temper tantrum, arrogant, ignorant, self delusional, entitlement crap to me!

It’s so funny to read these forums with statements like (grammar theirs); “Week after the premiere is NOT going to WORK! Jesus, get that in your head. People, we, consumers want it as SOON as it is available in the USA. God dammit, it’s like talking to a retarded people.” This, quite humorously stated, as if Creators and Entertainment Professionals owe them anything at all – for FREE even! It reminds me of a little kid in the candy store who has a temper tantrum because they can’t have ALL the candy available to them, RIGHT NOW, for free !

People who make statements like the one quoted above, have simply lost perspective. They have conveniently forgotten their place in order of things. Let me take a moment to set the record straight:
Hello people, you are CONSUMERS. That’s right. Your job is to PAY FOR and CONSUME the goods provided to you, by PROFESSIONALS (defined above)!
That’s it! That’s all! Shut up, and fulfill the role you have been groomed for! Buy it and enjoy it – or not -, but Shut The F**k Up about it, especially if you are watching or getting it for FREE !!!
Just look at the millions of hours of crap on YouTube generated by people who actually think they can make a show as well as, or better, then the show you love!

You LOVE this show, and shows like it, BECAUSE tens of thousands of man/woman hours of thought, creativity, work, sweat, agony, anxiety, reflection, experience, experimentation, and risk went into the making of it! (I know, this is something you conveniently are uncomfortable about being reminded of since doing so would force you to reflect on the mediocrity of your life. It is better for you to imagine it simply and magically showing up on your viewing device, like something you or your neighbour can make in an afternoon).

This show has fans all over the world BECAUSE the people involved with the show go way beyond the consumer, crowd sourced mediocrity that passes for talent and entertainment these days, and, by their daily attention to their craft, have fine honed a show and experience that exceeds most standards in entertainment today!

Quality, depth of experience, and excellence like this demands to be payed for IN FULL !! Save your quibbles about needing it for free for the tripe you see on YouTube.

So, if flailing about on the proverbial Internet floor in agony because your mediocre, pathetic, consumer life is not the way you want it to be, and by making ridiculous, absurd claims for better service and availability of a show you think you should have for free, on a forum like this, is the best you can do, then it’s time for you to either DO BETTER, or Shut the F**k up, step aside, pay the FULL PRICE of admission, and stay the F**k out of the way of the Professional Creators who make this world a better place to live in !

Yes … Even for pathetic Bottom Feeders like YOU !!!
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diver0129

Vikings is available to purchase and stream via Amazon. Why can’t HBO do this? I would buy the next season right now if they did. They don’t seem to understand that some people aren’t subscribing to cable now days. No, I’m not going to pay the money for cable service and then the extra fee for HBO just so that I can watch one show.
- tailhook
  
  Its FREE on Hulu :P.
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Terri

if I could just buy a subscription to hbogo I would happily pay for it. My problem is I don’t want to pay for cable just for one channel
Sally

Why does HBO assume we all have cable and its simiply a matter of adding an HBO subscription?
GuestyGuesterson

I for one, welcome our new HBO overlords. Even time-zone delay with “instant” access to all regions won’t stop piracy for this kind of high quality TV show. But they can take comfort in knowing that the die-hard pirates are also their die-hard fans and will buy blu-ray and dvd the moment they can.
EveryWoman2535

The networks seem to be clueless–what happened to the advertising idea that any exposure is good exposure? I mean shows/movies will remove their unauthorized TRAILERS for heaven’s sake! That makes NO sense. I don’t mind ads in order to see free content (as long as it isn’t every 3 seconds) and isn’t that how TV has always been financed? I also know that most fans are happy to buy DVDs of movies and full TV seasons even if they had downloaded the show (quality is MUCH better and includes desirable “extras”). MY biggest problem is that even though I use pay services the streaming quality sucks (and I have a very good high speed FIOS connection). Download viewing is soooo much better; streaming is frustrating to watch (and ties up my computer–though I am considering a media streamer I hesitate over concerns over quality. Will I have the same streaming issues? Will it help that the device is made ONLY for streaming? Will that improve the quality of my experience?). When streaming is as good as downloading, then I’ll be MUCH happier and probably wouldn’t download much at all. I for one hardly ever watch movies or most shows more than once.
Artistic1

I don’t understand why the networks don’t treat P2P networking as they do broadcast networking. Don’t worry about HOW it gets there, just sell advertising as usual. The download stats are readily available (in order to set advertiser rates) if they don’t treat their audience as the enemy. Ironic that Game of Thrones doesn’t even use advertising but won’t “sell” the program under any other model–how about still bundling HBO as a unit but as a separate offering from cable altogether (online) ? Why can’t they see that their own business model is what is costing them viewers, and in turn–money? They’re missing a vast opportunity. We need to show them that.

Networks and studios do pay attention when the viewers write (or nowadays, email). It works. Why don’t we all contact the “powers that be” and tell them? Tell them what we want and point out the benefits. Yes, even tell them how stupid they are being (but since we want them to listen, it’s better to be polite about it). The stats bear this out! I have, but I’m only one person. Every network and studio has a website with contact information.
Prophet Zarquon

HBO should just release their own torrents and…
Wait, they want $ubscriptions.
Oh well, back to the release groups.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1598094377 Jason Litzau

Here’s a thought:
Remove the exclusivity of watching GoT on HBO*.
Lower the prices on your DVD’s. HBO is infamous for overpriced DVDs.

*Put your show on Hulu, or Netflix. Stop assuming that HBO subscriptions are the best way to make money.

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