TorrentFreak

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Who’s Pirating Game of Thrones, And Why?

With over 3 million downloads per episode, the HBO hit series Game of Thrones is without doubt the most pirated TV-show of the season. Data gathered by TorrentFreak shows that most of the pirates come from Australia, while London tops the list of pirate cities. But why have these people turned to BitTorrent?

thronesIn a few hours a new episode of Game of Thrones will appear on BitTorrent, and a few days later between 3 and 4 million people will download this unofficial release.

Statistics gathered by TorrentFreak reveal that more people are downloading the show compared to last year, when it came in as the second most downloaded TV-show of 2011. The number of weekly downloads worldwide is about equal to the estimated viewers on HBO in the U.S., but why?

One of the prime reasons for the popularity among pirates is the international delay in airing. In Australia, for example, fans of the show have to wait a week before they can see the latest episode. So it’s hardly a surprise that some people are turning to BitTorrent instead.

And indeed, if we look at the top countries where Game of Thrones is downloaded, Australia comes out on top with 10.1% of all downloads (based on one episode).

But delays are just part of the problem. The fact that the show is only available to those who pay for an HBO subscription doesn’t help either. This explains why hundreds of thousands of people from the U.S. prefer to use BitTorrent.

The same is true for Canada and the United Kingdom, placed third and fourth in the list of pirate kings. If we look at the ranking of cities, London takes the lead followed by Sydney, Melbourne and Amsterdam.

To a certain degree one could claim that HBO is to blame for Game of Throne’s success on BitTorrent. They want to keep access to the show “exclusive” and even Netflix wasn’t able to buy the rights no matter what they offered.

Whether this is the best decision in terms of revenue is hard to tell, but it’s clear that HBO prefers more exclusiveness over less piracy. And who knows, maybe they even sell HBO subscriptions to BitTorrent downloaders in the long run.

The reasons above are not exhaustive of course, there are many more reasons why people turn to BitTorrent. For some it’s become a matter of habit that will be hard to break, no matter where they live and how good the legal alternative is.

If there are any Game of Thrones pirates reading this, let us know what drives you in the comments.

Spring 2012
# Country % City %
torrentfreak.com
1 Australia 10.1% London 3.0%
2 United States 9.7% Sydney 3.0%
3 Canada 7.7% Melbourne 2.9%
4 United Kingdom 7.6% Amsterdam 2.2%
5 The Netherlands 4.4% Athens 2.2%
6 Norway 3.7% Perth 1.8%
7 Spain 3.2% Istanbul 1.6%
8 Poland 3.0% Brisbane 1.5%
9 Greece 2.8% Budapest 1.3%
10 Philippines 2.7% Madrid 1.3%

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  • Anyone

    I download because if I wait for TV I would get it about a year later and only dubbed and censored.

    • http://www.seanrmilligan.com/ Sean Milligan

      I could understand the dubbed part, but where do you live that it could get censored, too?

      • Thomann

        Germany will censor any content not rated suitable for 12 year olds unless broadcasted after 10pm – and given the popularity they will want to use their 8o’clock primetime slots for that. On the upside the blurays being sold are uncensored, but how long until season 2 goes on sale here? -.-

        • Moose

           This seems strange for me as your country allows boobs on random adverts viewable by minors.

        • Anyone

          in Europe violence is bad, and sex is good (or at least not everyone runs around screaming “think of the children” when a nipple is exposed ;))
          in the US it is the other way round

        • Ralph Brubaker

          God DAMN America and it’s censorship! Damnb youu America you ruined eberythinG!!

        • Tanisha

          ” Ralph Brubaker 3 hours ago” releave God out of this, God doesnt damn anyone, you damb yourself, read/listen to the bible King James Version by Alexander Scourby (ready by) and learn something, ur on tf after all

        • SUE AUSTRALIA

          Dont these figures just prove Australians dont give a fuck about hiding their piracy through VPNs?

          Far as I know, there are no commercial VPNs operating out of Oz, so all those IP addresses are probably real. Is HBO going to SUE AUSTRALIA?

          Cause from what I hear, Aussie judges have learned to love teh pirate. Good fuckin’ luck MAFIAAs.

        • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay

          Here’s what is and is not censored by country: Link

        • Anonymous

          my friend’s aunt made $17398 the previous week. she is making income on the internet and bought a $578000 house. All she did was get lucky and try the steps written on this website===>> ?????? http://seekingguru.blogspot.com

        • http://www.seanrmilligan.com/ Sean Milligan

          I was unaware! Duly noted. I’ve until now only been an observer on sites like this so now I’m trying to join the conversation!

        • Anonymous

          my classmate’s mom made $ 18460 l ast week. s he is ge tting p aid o n the l aptop a nd mo ved in a $ 571 600 house. A ll sh e did w as g et lu cky an d fo llow the t ips ma de cl ear o n th is si te ===>> ?????? http://workoverenternet.blogspot.com

        • Anonymous

          my best friend’s sister-in-law got paid $14696 the prior month. she is making money on the inte<!–truth is almight–>rnet and bought a $372500 home. All she did was get blessed and work up the steps uncovered on this link 

          ?????? (Click At My Name For Link)

      • Anyone

        if it airs before 10pm (I think, could be wrong) violence and nudity is cut on german television.
        usually there is a uncut repeat in the night if that happens, but it is still annoying if you don’t have a DVR or similar.

        • http://www.facebook.com/people/Ender-Wiggin/100000885624281 Ender Wiggin

          if you cut the violence and nudity, you’d have 5 minutes of content per episode.  probably with no dialogue.

        • http://profile.yahoo.com/ND4EYJWA6VNDOEX5OODRBMKGFI Noldus

          I wonder how Spartacus sent before 10pm would look in Germany :D

        • Anonymous

          This is sad for Germans especially since Sybel Kelkilli is showing a lot of boobs. and what about Carice van Houten, that playing Melisandre priestess???

      • Anonymous

        I’ll bet money Singapore censors it. They censor Sex and the City and Queer as Folk. 
        HBO has chosen a restrictive business model, and when its so difficult to get legitimate copies of Game of Thrones, then people will definitely pirate.

        • Ralph Brubaker

          Dude,you just don’t get it. Do you?
          We’re here to shit on America, 
          not Singapore.

           Got it?

        • YoMama

          It’s okay to shit on anyone who censors, or on countries where the laws are written by the people who pay the most, I think, which captures both Singapore and the US.

        • Tanisha

           sorry but wouldnt watch queer as folk if u paid me, the name gives it away…

        • http://www.seanrmilligan.com/ Sean Milligan

          Yeah, I think it’s kinda funny because there’s more money to be made if they offer it more ways. Given, there are some expenses associated with porting content to so many services and media. But, dubbing/censorship complaints withheld, I feel piracy would drop off if companies were willing to give up the exclusivity and meet the people halfway. Exclusivity is more of an illusion now as there are many people with the time and know-how to port it themselves and share it with others.

        • Aten Ra

          Tanisha.. you watch Game of Thrones but wouldn’t watch Queer as Folk if you were paid.. “.. because the name gives it away”
          Gives what away Tanisha..?

        • Anonymous

          @ Tanisha you are so right about Queer as Folk! My roommate watched it, and and now she’s a muffdiver! my sister watched it, and she too, is a beaver eater. Gimme a ‘like’ if you know people who also started batting for the other team! ::), or, if you yourself had that experience. Like Tanisha.

      • Max Renn

        Australian cable TV doesn’t allow for R-rated shows.

      • http://lenindcruz.deviantart.com/ LWTBP

        You sound shocked that something like Game of Thrones needs censoring for matinee viewing in a lot of countries!

        • http://www.seanrmilligan.com/ Sean Milligan

          I suppose I was thinking of a different kind of censorship. I was unaware that HBO was on mainstream TV as opposed to its own subscriber channel like in the US. I thought that, like with most subscription services here, it was shielded from the censorship (like Pay Per View and satellite radio).

        • http://www.seanrmilligan.com/ Sean Milligan

          Here, being the US for me! How foolishly ethnocentric of me. I see that many different countries participate here.

        • LWTBP

          Oh that’s fine man… you did mention “US” once followed by ‘here’ which I take as a pronoun then :D

      • ndmushroom

        You’d be surprised. I was shocked to find that the episodes of House airing in Greek TV were censored, with the gorier bits taken out. I’m guessing the same thing happens to more european countries with varying degrees of “sensitivity”.

      • Anonymous

        my buddy’s mother go t paid $21508 the previous week. she is making money on the internet and bought a $386500 house. All she did was get fortunate and put into work the instructions explained on this web site===>> ?????? http://uniquejoboffer.blogspot.com

      • Anonymous

        my roomate’s ex-wife got paid $15158 the prior week. she is making an income on th e laptop and got a $584800 home. All she did was get fortunate and set to work the advice shown on this web site ===>> ?????? <http://job2seek.blogspot.com

      • Anonymous

        This was vary shocked for me first time that somebody can brought 4100$ per week at home but after revision now it looks good to me, have you visit this link====>> ?????? http://getitmust.blogspot.com/m

      • Anonymous

        my roomate’s ex-wife got paid $15158 the prior week. she is making an income on th e laptop and got a $584800 home. All she did was get fortunate and set to work the advice shown on this web site ===>> ?????? http://enternet-Job.blogspot.com

      • Anonymous

        my roomate’s ex-wife got paid $15158 the prior week. she is making an income on th e laptop and got a $584800 home. All she did was get fortunate and set to work the advice shown on this web site ===>> ?????? http://enternet-work.blogspot.com

      • http://lazycash1.com/ Anonymous

        my buddy’s sister-in-law made $18108 a month ago. she worrks on the internet and bought a $525400 condo. All she did was get blessed and put into action the instructions given on this website 

        ?????? (Click At My Name For Link)

    • Stephen

       I download it because I work shift work and rarely get to watch tv.

    • Lethn

       The UK is a censorship fest for this kind of thing, they banned Man Hunt and from a personal experience they censored both the simpsons and teenage mutant ninja turtles. Yep, they actually re-named it teenage mutant hero turtles and got rid of any scenes where Michael Angelo used nunchucks.

      I’m not going to take the chance with Game of Thrones, man hunt was never really my thing, even I think the violence in it was fairly pointless but it didn’t deserve to be censored. I refuse to put money into such a system, don’t even get me start on the anti-piracy crap you have to put up with as a paying customer when buying any DVD.

      • Lethn

        *started

      • Danny

        I was a huge player of manhunt, the gameplay is all about stealth and because of the violence of the other characters in the game it really gets your heart going and makes you jump!

        I downloaded manhunt 2 that was released by the creators on bittorrent and to be honest the violence that they banned it for was no worse than the first one they let through the censor.

      • Anonymous

        The BBC banned a complete episode of STAR TREK: VOYAGER because it had a line in it that the IRA successful gained independence thru terrorism in 2024 or something. True story. That’s censoring a FICTIONAL thing, as opposed to real stuff like chopping a guys head off in GoT. Then again, NBC, of all networks!, banned an episode of teen show Degrassi cos it showed a 14 year girl going through with an abortion…

    • AUSTRALIA REPRESENT

       Australia represent!

      We get so ripped off. Everything we buy from clothes to cars to dvds is twice the cost the rest of the world pays. We only found out recently thanks to the internet. Wasn’t like our media was going to tell us when they were in on the scam through ad revenue.

      So now we pirate! And feel no guilt at all. We were looted for years and now it’s time to a bit of reverse looting, me hearties.

      Woot! Thanks you bittorrent! LOVE YA WORK.

      • Cdelwnj

        Whats even worse for Aussies it that Game of Thrones is aired on Foxtel (Pay TV company). Costs almost $50 to watch delayed tv series… absolute joke.

      • Moxie

         Pretty much. I stop taking a northerner seriously when they whinge about their prices, they’ve clearly never been down here.

      • Lol

        Yeah as said below, its deceiving saying it takes “a week” to get it in australia. More like a year/never for free to air and itunes takes ages as well.

        When hollywood starts paying attention to us and actually distributing content in australia then piracy will go down

        • Filmfan4

          Doubtful . . .that “when Hollywood starts paying attention . . .[to Australia]. . . then piracy will go down” . . . but, whatever excuse eases your conscience, Lol. (Your “excuse” is mild compared to some I’ve seen. . )

          This is not aimed at you, Lol but . . . someone really ought to make a list of the funny excuses people make for pirating (some I’ve seen are like the downloader is trying to appear innocent or so low on the “guilty scale” that the “watchers” will leave them alone & go after bigger fish – or, like they are actually only DL’ing the torrent as a “legitimate back-up” for a film that they already own – or, one they bought & lost or lent to a friend who failed to return it, etc.  Some are funny in a sad sort of way.  (I’m just picking on you, Lol – being silly &  not to be mean . . .however, the reality is pirating down under won’t go down – it will continue to go up just as it will everywhere else (as the economy in every country gets worse) & those wonderful, brilliant “techies” of the world will stay ahead of the 1% buttoned-up “establishment”. I have SO much gratitude to uploaders for all that they share with all of us, to all the sites that organize the torrents, to everyone who seeds their fair share, etc.  For some of us, what we can get off the www is the ONLY entertainment we can get…Not everyone in the world cam afford or even has access to satellite, cable, etc. We are lucky if we have internet… )

          In the immortal words of Yoda, “Do or do not… there is no try”… you either pirate or you don’t pirate. . . just don’t pretend that you feel bad about it.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000055991483 Venetta Lee

        It was made even more obvious when the A$ went from .50US$ to 1US$ and the prices didn’t change

      • 231

        Brazil is twice as worse.

      • Guest

         What you also have to remember is that you also have a relatively massive minimum wage in Australia. It’s not as clear cut as “everything [...] is twice the cost”.

      • Anonymous

        Australia was looted??? That’s rich, considering the how the whites looted the aborginal lands, which they stole, and subsequently they called the real Australians lazy bums. And for the last 100 years Australia has effectively looted the countries around it, so…..

        • Anonymous

          Oh fuck off. Stop being an obnoxious cunt.

        • http://www.facebook.com/verti.gon.3 Verti Gon

          Sounds rather like the formation of every country ever.

      • Anonymous

        The internet didn’t inform you that well then. In Scandinavia, we have the highest taxes in the world. in Denmark, a brand new car (medium quality) costs at least 300.000DKK (50.000 US Dollar)!

    • http://twitter.com/ValenzuelaJimmi ValenzuelaJimmie

      what Nancy said I’m impressed that a single mom able to make $6165 in a few weeks on the computer. did you look at this site  (Click on menu Home more information)  http://goo.gl/RlJFY  

    • Nehx

      and commercial cuts every 10 minutes!!

  • politux

    BitTorrent is free HBO isn’t. :)

    • http://twitter.com/SpitefulBlonde Zwan

      And Australians get shafted in terms of price.

      $ 89 US dollars for COD and any other high rated Activision/EA Game
      $ 45 US dollars for blue-rays
      $150 US dollars for Cable TV (with all channels)
      $130 US dollars for 500GB Cable Internet (which requires bundled phone) 

      Its not cheap to even PIRATE in Aus let alone get things legitimately. They can suck a fat one if they want to whing about me pirating.

      • Guest

         I think the real reason why people are downloading is because TV is outdated, not at all interactive and its always trying to sell you shit while patronising the viewer at the same time. Bittorrent Pwns TV

        • Anon

           This.  I don’t even watch TV anymore – ever.  I OWN one, but the only thing it’s attached to is a PS3.  Let’s face it, what appeals to you more..

          – Having to set aside time at a specific time and date, every week, to see something – Often having to make a decision between doing something else (Work on assignments/study, catch up with family/friends, perhaps even a date) and seing a show that is _only_ available to you at this one specific time.

          – Or, having the show availale to you when you actually have time to watch it.

          This is especially annoying with a story-driven series.  With a show like Family Guy, if you miss an episode, who cares.  But when it comes to something story-driven, if you miss that one episode (you may have had to go to an exam, or travel away for a wedding/funeral, etc etc – there are so many things that can make you not be available at a gievn time) you straight away fall completely out of the show.  I would find it hard to count the amount of times, when I still watched TV, that I would watch 5 episodes of a show in a row, only to miss one, and never pick it back up because I knew i’d be missing a chunk of the story.

          For all we know, 30% of the torrent downloads could just be people who missed one episode and needed to catch up before next weeks.

          TL;DR – A distribution medium for something that must be consistently watched without fail, in order to ‘keep up’, should be something that lets us watch it when we actually have time, not force us to make the time.

        • neon

          Good luck watching all those shows on bit torrent when TV station go broke from no revenue

      • Someone

        $130 for 500gb? Where do you live? In Brisbane it’s $80 for unlimited ADSL2+ (I achieve about 16Mbps at my house in the burbs)…

        • Dave dias

          $ 69 for 500gb optus cable + speed pack 1yr free  (need bundle)
          I get about 40Mbps

        • http://twitter.com/SpitefulBlonde Zwan

          its telstras cable @ 100mbit. Plan requires you phone to be conencted too which is why is more than they actually advertise.

          ADSL2+ is only 4mbit where I live, its shit.

        • http://twitter.com/SpitefulBlonde Zwan

          @a289e0f737abee290a738c4a5f1f934f:disqus 

          Optus cable is the worst internet you can have….. and its $109 
          https://www.optus.com.au/shop/broadband/fusion/broadbandplan/109 

        • Domin8

          I pay $70 a month, ADSL 2+ unlimited speed and downloads, bundled with my home phone unlimited local and national calls as well as 100 mins free for international calls… 

        • Domin8

          Oh, it’s 24Mbps where i live…

        • Malcoriel

           $15/month for 20Mbps. Russia. Now it’s no wonder why it’s easier for us to pirate everything. And yeah, I also get some digital tv channels (around 70), but don’t use it at all. TV sucks in any form.

        • Big K

          13-15€/month in Central Europe (CZ/SK/PL/HU as far as I know), so it’s about same amount in USD as in Russia. Australian prices are insane…

        • Xander Delores

           hummz… my 100/100mbit fiber optic line costs me $58 USD, incl. in price is home phone + 250gb monthly dl (can get same speeds for $35 but only 10gb per month), however the download limit is only for downloads outside the country, can dl unlimited locally

          as for downloading Game of Thrones, i don’t own a TV, i don’t want to own a TV, waste of electricity, i hate tv advert breaks, i don’t want to watch it at a set time, i want freedom to watch it whenever i choose to, plus they subtitle it here, if i were to want to see it with subs i’d watch it with english subs

        • Guest

          US Dollars bro

        • Simon

           At least you can get ADSL2+. Thanks to Telstra, I can only get ADSL1, no naked services at all, and it still costs as much or more than ADSL2+.

      • vablah

        … and they shaft you with advertisement at the same time

        • Danny

          That’s the reason I wont pay for Sky in the UK.

          Pay a huge subscription to TV and then still get loads of adverts rammed down your throat. Like getting DP’d in the ass by a couple of black guys.

      • Chris_in_Canada

         It’s not so much that Australians are paying so much, it’s more that Americans pay so little for everything.
        While the prices you stated are high, they aren’t that far off from what we have to pay here in Canada.  The only thing that mediates some of the pricing here is that we can simply nip down to the US and buy it there.  The prices quoted for cable TV and internet are pretty much the same in Canada.  Plus the ISPs try to grab their share of the pirating pie by placing all sorts of ridiculous d/l caps on us and charging us a fortune for any usage that goes over that.

        • Guest

           Strange though because it cost $190.00 US dollars for Cable TV in the US with all the channels. I personally have to pay $30.00 US a month for 3Mb DSL of which I’m lucky if I hit 2Mb to 2.5Mb of because that’s the fastest internet I can get. And add in the fact the average weekly cost of health coverage is $150.00 dollars out of a pay check. And then the fact that wages are taxed 22% before you even get your check and then anywhere from 3% to 17% sales tax on anything you buy on top of State and Federal communication taxes for internet, phone, and TV.

    • Cara

      I download, but I also just bought Season 1 in Blueray. If I hadn’t been able to download the series, I wouldn’t have spent $60 on it. Hollywood can stfu.

      • Johnny Maggot

        Not a lot to do with Hollywood really. The entire series is filmed in Ireland using English film crews. I know, I worked on the first season.
         As piracy becomes the norm I’m finding I have to work more hours for less money. To be honest I could probably earn more money working full time in Mcdonalds but why would I do that I spent years at college and uni training to be able to produce great films/tv series for people to enjoy. Thanks guys.

        • M3mr1x

           You must be a troll. Piracy does not effect your work hours sorry. You’re going to have to find some other scapegoat for your personal woes. There’s nearly a worldwide recession, people aren’t spending money like they used to, there isn’t as much demand, therefore your film industry skills aren’t in demand. Piracy breeds profit. Cara has a nice example of how that works. One download =/= one sale lost. People who think otherwise do not understand society and the internet.

        • Bobo

           Really M3mr1x? How long you been working in the industry? Regardless of ones views on piracy, the reality is that media barons use piracy as an excuse to screw workers on wages. Whether their view is true or not is beside the point, it is what is happening.
          Personally I believe your supply and demand argument is utterly flawed with respect to content. Due to the economy people aren’t going out and spending $$ like they used pre GFC, they are staying in and consuming content, be it via torrents, film or TV.

          Given that I understand Johnny Maggot’s point correctly, I praise him for staying in the industry and producing great content instead of earning a better wage at McDonalds. I wish there were more like him instead of smug pricks like yourself who berate people who produce content even though it may not in their best financial interests.

    • Farpoint

      Part 1: BitTorrent and Money
      Yeah, But BitTorrent doesn’t produce GoT , they’re just hosting copied files! HBO has to pay actors, producers, cutters, etc. And HBO employees want to be paid as well.Copying will not produce anything. Same is true for music, btw. I bought GoT on iTunes in Germany before it was available anywhere else. Uncensored. To watch whenever I want.If you want good TV entertainment, it has to be paid for by us consumers. Part 2: Delayed AiringAs ANYONE already stated , in Germany we have to wait ages before we get a show aired. Dubbing takes it time. If they would release the content to Germany before official airing , no company in Germany would earn any money on dubbing and airing anymore (or at least not as much as they make today). BUT I don’t want to watch it dubbed, I want to watch the original. And it works for major theater movies!!! Why doesn’t it work for TV-Shows either?? Wait with the release until every interested country has their version ready and then release on the same date. Works for Star Wars, works for Disney, etc. Why doesn’t it work for the TV? wouldn’t they make more money if they’d air in Austalia, Germany and the US on the same day??

  • http://twitter.com/wartzilla jellydonut

    Repping Norway here – I’d happily pay for Game of Thrones, if I could buy it the way I buy games on Steam.

    And not a fucking year after the rest of the civilized world has seen it.

    • Foo

      Availability. I have access to use netflix, hulu, amazon and any other service that I can run on my laptop, boxee or ps3. But I am not paying 160 a month for cable with HBO for a single good show.

      I //would// however more than happily pay 8-10/mo for HBO GO access without cable. More if you gave me unlimited access to older shows like Sopranos and The Wire.

  • no-one

    Don’t watch/download it myself but I think this Oatmeal comic says it all….  http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones

    • Geekized

      LOL, I loved that comic. He nailed it.

    • Guest

       Yep, this is pretty much why.

    • LilBluePill

      UR PENIS = TOO SMALL!! 

      classic

  • http://the-jade-domain.com Jaime J. Denizard

    I download because I keep forgetting to watch it when it airs, even though I pay for HBO! lol

    • http://www.seanrmilligan.com/ Sean Milligan

      Yes! I just posted that this was the same for me.

      • Yogi

        Me too, also don’t want to have to watch one episode a week for 10 weeks, so save them up & watch them all back to back over a couple of days.

    • Nope

       Don’t you get HBO go with your subscription for free?

      • lnz

        HBO Go rips are of worse quality than HDTV rips

        • Hugh Lilly

          Are they really? Wow.

  • http://gene-poole.tumblr.com Gene Poole

    I can confirm it’s a matter of convenience, for myself at least. I have a subscription to HBO, came with my TV subscription. I even have old episodes available for free through VOD. But I still download the old episodes through BT. It’s convenient. I can watch it wherever I have my laptop, iPod, phone or my portable drive, I’m not restricted by the location of my TV, and I can choose the format of the media without having to convert it myself.

    Now with that said, while it may be illegal, it really shouldn’t be. It’s a matter of format shifting. The copy I download is indistinguishable from the one I PVR. The only difference is versatility, and if HBO were offering that to their customers, I wouldn’t have to resort to bittorrent to get it.

    • http://the-jade-domain.com Jaime J. Denizard

      I guess we COULD use HBO Go, but who wants another app on their Android device anyway? XD

      • http://gene-poole.tumblr.com Gene Poole

        Absolutely. I doubt you can shift the app to your SD card. For that way as well, my data cap for my phone is a lot lower than my home DSL. Still makes better sense to torrent.

      • Simon Jester

        You cant do that unless you are an HBO subscriber, and to be an HBO subscriber you must be a Cable subscriber. I would be more than willing to pay for an HBO Go subscription, The cable company id also my internet provider and despite the horrible customer service Comcast is ridiculously fast and I already pay extra for more speed, why do I also have to pay them for cable channels I don’t want?

      • Holycow12

        Not to mention, Xfinity/Comcast currently does not allow HBOgo availability on 3rd party media streaming devices, aka Roku. I chose Roku because compared to Apple TV, the Roku rated and reviewed higher in terms of variety and amount of content. And while it does offer HBOgo, my damn provider doesn’t allow me to access it?!

        When bitTorrenting remains ahead of the pack in delivering a service that “legitimate” companies drag their heels on or are having their heels dragged, they will always win. End of story.

  • Was

    No ads

    • Guest

      HBO doesn’t have ads during the show.

      • Anyone

        the stations where it airs in other countries might have them.

      • me

        Theres are adds in my country, and this show is broadcast in SD. Having to wait a week for a low quality episode of a show with annoying adds seems like the crappy way to do it.

        I would pay maybe up to $20 via credit card for a download in HD in my country of the entire season provided it was in a compatible format eg h264 and no DRM.

  • Sword of Truth

    Bittorrent is not just the new radio it is the new Video!  Simple as.

    • Bash

      The Shakespeare of our Time! your words are bringing me to tears in a 100 years you will be quoted in the same light as Orwell!

  • Necessitius

    Because I want to decide when to watch it, and because it takes ages to get it to Sweden, in non-HD quality and with annoying subs. I’d love to pay per episode or through commercials right before the episode if possible, but I can’t. 

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  • TheDude

    I’m an expatriate American in Germany, prefer to see GoT in my first language, not dubbed and not half a year later. If I could get HBO in English here I would subscribe tomorrow.

    • Farpoint

      As would probably a lot of Germans as well! 
      But for some reason Managers don’t think globally. At least not most of them … *sigh*

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_OK7Y7PCSTJ27RCKZ2MGRSAYCTE NEIL

    In New Zealand Game of Thrones is on SoHo (SKY Channel 010) and after subscribing to the digital network at $65 per month with added per channel costs if you want to watch sport etc. and finding I was watching less than four hours a week, we binned subscription last year. SoHo is also an added monthly cost to the standard channels Sky provides and like Australia the screening is a week behind USA screening – so it’s a no-brainer for me…. especially as there’s no bloody annoying Sky channel adverts!!!!!

    • kiwifag

      True dat.

      I get all my releases via Bittorrent anyway. Better quality than obtaining it legally, and no ads sans the watermark from the channel that it is recorded from.

  • Guest

    If I wanted to see it, I had absolutely no idea where and how I could obtain it legally in my country, and I would still probably have to wait several weeks or even months before the latest episodes were available.

    With bittorrent it’s easy, everything can be obtained from the same place, and it’s quick. No-brainer.

  • Nanageddon

    I download as in the UK it is exclusive to ‘Sky Atlantic’,essentially HBO by another name, but i pay for cable but via ‘Virgin Media’ and Sky won’t allow Virgin to have ‘Atlantic’ on the channel rosta so I am forced to reach for the torrent!!

    I suppose I coulld always change provider to Sky, but that would involve giving money to Rupert Murdoch and I would rather eat my own testicles than do that!

    • Steve Donaghy

       Exactly the same reason here – we have Virgin for our broadband and TV, but the channel that carries Game of Thrones isn’t available because Sky keeps it as an exclusive. Sky has been wrapped in the past for doing this with sports, movies and otherwise. They used to put these shows on “Sky 1″ but now that they have to resell that to Virgin, they’ve created a new channel called Sky Atlantic that is supposed to carry “the best from the US”, but strangely enough most new shows sky gets end up being played on Sky Atlantic, regardless as to whether it’s from the US or not (In fact they’re showing a Documentary by David Attenborough on Sky Atlantic – quite clearly british made, so why not put it on Sky 1? Oh that’s right, so they can stick it to the competition).
      tl;dr – My Cable provider has no way of letting me legitimately purchase the show.

    • No1_2_u

      3 years ago I cancelled my cable TV & got the biggest Internet package my ISP offered; now I download all of my entertainment w/ torrents.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=537907264 Tro Den

        +1

    • 5up3rf1yguy

      Exact same scenario here. I buy the books and comics but I’m not buying f’king Sky on top of Virgin.

    • Zan

      Hate to say it but paying virgin for their tv is the same as paying Murdoch, after all virgin are buying the content from sky.

      So yes i download game of thrones as its a good show, but sky and murdoch are scum who will never get a penny from me.

      • Danny

        You may be paying murdoch but no way near as much. Rich gets the biggest cut!

    • http://twitter.com/The_Thnikkaman The_Thnikkaman

       Same here.  I would gladly pay for Game of Thrones, it’s excellent, but I’m not allowed a satellite dish on my building. 

      And also, I hate Murdoch with every fibre of my being

  • http://twitter.com/Pihrra Martin Brée

    I live in Belgium I have no intention of waiting 9 month (and that’s because GoT is so popular, it’s often at least a year before a US series is broadcasted here) to see it.

    I’m sure I’ll buy a bundle with all seasons when it’s finished because it’s so good but I can’t (nor do I want to) wait that long to see the episodes. The web is global and I read content from all around the world and it seems stupid that although I hear and read so many things about it I’m not allowed to watch it.
    This makes no sense.
    I’d pay for it or I’d see it with ads if I could watch it legally without delay but even that I can’t do.
    I don’t “pirate” because I don’t want to pay I do because they leave me no other choice. I’m already committed to buy the damn thing once it’s over and I just can’t understand why they aren’t willing to understand that !

  • Huddel

    What’s the excuse for one week delay in Australia or the UK?

    I mean, I get that in countries which have a national language other than english need to get the show subbed/dubbed, so a week delay is reasonable – as is the case for the Walking Dead in Latin America, to use a recent example. 

    But in the current era in which transferring the files is incredible easy, not airing the episodes simultaneously or with a small delay of a few hours to adapt for timezones – least in the english-speaking world – simply is ridiculous!

    Licensing issues is not an excuse, as those are artificially created barriers and could be demolished by HBO itself!

    Hell, I’m sure that the station that airs it in Australia (Wikipedia tells me it’s Showcase) would use the fact that the episodes air really close to the U.S. it as a huge advertising gimmick – possibly boosting the number of people watching the series by a lot and making them more money in the future.

    But hey, who am I to question it, right? Their CEO seems to know what he is doing, like calling the internet “just a fad”. Really seems to understand the market.:V [/sarcasm]

    • Anonymous

      This seems to be a significant problem. It is certainly what drives me to torrent. Torchwood was the worst example. It is a British show so it would make sense if it aired here first right? No. For some bizarre reason it airs in America almost a week before the UK. I don’t want to have to spend a week casually sidestepping posts on Twitter to avoid spoilers. Why is it so hard to negotiate a licence deal where the episode is aired close to the same day in every country? I have found even some Comedy Central shows are delayed. What the hell are they doing? Negotiating a deal with themselves?

      In addition to this some licence deals seem to exclude on-line streaming so even when shows do air in the UK we can’t even get them on our on demand services. I completely agree with you that all these restrictions are ridiculous for what should by now be a bloody simple process.

      • Guesting

        Why is it so hard to negotiate a licence deal where the episode is aired close to the same day in every country?

        Could it be because when the episodes first come out, they charge the tv broadcasters alot more and alot of them simply cant afford the price. then a week or year later they lower price.. Im guessing but i recon that’s the problem.

        • Anyone

          they want to keep it “exclusive” in the US for a week.
          that is the only reason, there is no technical reason for it to not be available the same day (or next day due to timezones) in Australia, UK or wherever, they simply think that that would somehow “cheapen” their product.

          I guess the numbers add up because/despite of this, at least I don’t hear HBO bitching about “those filthy pirates” like many other studios/channels do.

      • Guest

        “Why is it so hard to negotiate a licence deal where the episode is aired close to the same day in every country?”

        Clearly they can do it, they obviously chose not to. I remember when the Lost finale came out a few years ago, it was on at exactly the same time in the UK and the US (even though it made it like 5am here).

      • Anonymous

        “I don’t want to have to spend a week casually sidestepping posts on Twitter to avoid spoilers.”
        ^ This, among other things, is why regionalization is a huge and epic failure. Once you’ve published your work in one nation, the world knows within 24 hours whether what you made was epic fail or a legendary classic. Either way the hype is punctured and you get people downloading it in advance instead of patiently waiting.

        • http://twitter.com/Haldered Aaron Stormageddon

          It’s kind of irrelavent for the consumer, though. They’ll download it, legally or not, if it’s the most convenient way. And with the advent of internet-capable TVs, it’s more convenient than even DVRing.

    • Fredrika

      > “I mean, I get that in countries which have a national language other than english need to get the show subbed/dubbed, so a week delay is reasonable..”

      It is not. Writing subtitles can be done in a couple of hours, so that does not excuse more than 24 hours delay maximum. Regarding dubbing, which takes longer than subbing, that is still irrelevant(as with subbing), because the US production companies could still provide the shows to all overseas networks in advance, a weak or so, and that would provide plenty of time to prepare shows for airing. It is technically fully possible to air all shows worldwide within the same 24 hour window, both subbed and dubbed. The only shows that could possibly require more than 24 hour delay for dubbing before airing is talk shows, 60 Minutes and similar program that has a minimal time window from final editing to US airing.

      • Anyone

        even talk shows unless they are live would have enough time for subtitles.
        something like the daily show airs at midnight but is recorded something like 5 in the afternoon, ample time to get a somewhat decent translation in.

        • Fredrika

          > “even talk shows unless they are live would have enough time for subtitles.”

          Which i wrote, the comment about talk shows was regarding dubbing.

          > “something like the daily show airs at midnight but is recorded something like 5 in the afternoon, ample time to get a somewhat decent translation in.”

          Well, maybe not, do not confuse recording with final editing. Talk shows are indeed recorded in the afternoon(Letterman’s Friday show is recorded several days earlier, usually the Monday if i remember correctly, so the editing team doesn’t have to work late on Fridays), but when afternoon recording of late shows is completed they have to be edited, have graphics inserted and other post-production work done, and that takes a couple of hours for the US production company, so late shows are usually not completed until some times less than an hour before it’s first airing on the east coast.

      • Huddel

        I said it’s reasonable because I have a friend who works as a professional translator for a cable network in Brazil, so I know from someone who makes a living out of it.

        According to her – who is a huge fan of series and including started her career as an amateur subber for release groups before going professional – the problem is that there’s not enough people to do the job in there, each network or localization studio has like 3 to 5 people translating at best and they’re usually overworked.

        So unlike fansub, they don’t have 2 translators (or sometimes more guys dividing the translation work in many parts), 1 guy to time and a fourth one to format the subs, and a fifth one as editor, working overnight to make a next-day release on a per-project basis. 

        Most of the time is only one person doing all the job – of course she has a in-house software that does helps the work a lot, but still is a lot of work for one person.

        She herself admited that she and her colleagues cannot match fan-effort because both her contract and work hours and the fact that she cannot dedicate to just one or two projects, as she is tasked with 10 or more at once and unless they got more people working on the job it’s not viable – but then there’s not enought people with enough domain of the language who are willing to work as fulltime subtitlers/translators (I heard a similar complaint from another friend who works as a book translator) so they have positions open and lack of people willing/qualified enough to fill in.

        • Fredrika

          I understand the limitations for your friend’s work situation, but those are not necessary. They do not change the second point i made, which still makes more than 24 hours delay in airing unreasonable. It’s fully possible to transfer all shows a weak in advance before they air in the US, and have them ready for every single market so they can air globally within 24 hours of first airing. It is possible.

          The US Networks can not dictate that shows should air in the US before they send them to other networks, if the overseas networks stand up against it. It’s fully possible for all networks worldwide to collaborate and demand that the US production companies deliver the shows a week in advance, because not doing so causes a situation were piracy is the only alternative, or solution, if you wish.

        • Huddel

          @flphpp:disqus Not disagreeing with you on that though, as you said, transferring stuff earlier so they get subbed/dubbed in time for airing is possible and would be a solution – they do it for movies and it seems that they’re doing it for the second season of Game of Throne in Brazil according to another commenter in this very same article (though, as that friend of mine says, it’s an exception that’s only being done for huge stuff, like GoT and Lost’s last season).
          However, under the current working of the things, for other languages it is still reasonable. Acceptable? No, it’s not, but still reasonable. But at least they have the excuse of the aditional translation work – even though if the producers want they can minimize it with proper scheduling.

          On other hand, it still doesn’t explain why someone on the UK, Australia, New Zeland and Canada have a delay ranging from a week to a few months when there’s no aditional work required.

        • Fredrika

          > “However, under the current working of the things, for other languages it is still reasonable. Acceptable? No, it’s not, but still reasonable. But at least they have the excuse of the aditional translation work..”

          But finding excuses and referring to the current working of the things is probably not the best way of fighting piracy, assuming they wish to fight it.

          > “On other hand, it still doesn’t explain why someone on the UK, Australia, New Zeland and Canada have a delay ranging from a week to a few months when there’s no aditional work required.”

          Haven’t we learned from watching the recording industry that incompetence is unprecedented among industries that work with business models that rely on legislative monopolies? The TV-, movie- and book industry has had all chances on not repeating the music industries mistake with failing to meet consumer demand, and instead use DRM, release delays, regional differencing and proprietary formats, but currently it seems they are destined to repeat every single mistake that the music industry committed under a ten year time period. The only culture industry that seems to have any intelligence is the video game industry.

        • Philipthedog

          This is bullshit. I AM a translator, and have translated many many shows from English to Korea. A one hour show has less than 5 pages of dialogue (in paragraph form, 1.5 spaces, standard font).  Any good translator can knock that off in half a day.

          The companies that hire translators do it always on a free-lance basis, and they have unlimited money to hire the best translators for high profile things.  

          The pay is ridiculously good, and there are millions of qualifies people the world over who can do it.

        • Huddel

          @ed16f3c8ff14cf426f9120c019e567ba:disqus 

          > in Korea.

          You’re basing the reality of the remaining of the world on your home market. That’s a fallacy. 

          I have a professional saying that the reality of her maket is different from yours, she wished it could be like yours but isn’t, calling the workings of the reality she knows and lives in as bullshit without checking is a pretty harsh assumption.

          It’s like an american assuming that everyone can just sign up for Hulu or Netflix instead of resorting to piracy, when those services do not exist or are extremely limited and/or priced unreasonably outside of their borders – and no local alternative exists.

      • Legewiel

         Here in Brazil GOT is subbed AND dubbed and airing at the same time as US

        • Huddel

          It does confirm what my friend said to me, thugh as she said it’s an exception only done to big international hits like Game of Thrones, the final season of Lost and the finale for American Idol. 

          Can you confirm the information? She went offline shortly ago though so I won’t get an answer in a timely manner.

      • Magma

         The problem is that TV stations here don’t want to commit to show a season unless they are 100% sure it will be a success. So they wait for the season to finish in the US before they buy the rights and select a timeslot.

        • Fredrika

          > “The problem is that TV stations here don’t want to commit to show a season unless they are 100% sure it will be a success. So they wait for the season to finish in the US before they buy the rights and select a timeslot.”

          I don’t know were here is, but they don’t want to take the risks that the US Networks take? Then piracy continuous and the reason will still be among other the things the unnecessary delay that doesn’t have to be.

          Secondly, regarding GOT, it was no surprise that that show was going to be a success, the public anticipation was huge long before the first episode aired in the US.

    • http://twitter.com/Haldered Aaron Stormageddon

      One week delay is actually pretty good in Australia compared to just last year.
      However, the delay isn’t necassarily the problem, it’s that the availibilty of cable is almost non-existant compared to the U.S., and insanely expensive. 95% of people wouldn’t even consider getting it (and Murdoch owns it all and the market likely to die in the next few years). Our broadband prices are high enough.
      Our commercial free-to-air channels are some of the wealthiest in the world due to imports being extremely cheap, but they only import crap. It’s hard enough getting them to air Big Bang Theory in order, let alone Game of Thrones or Mad Men.
      We have one government-funded channel and one partially-government-funded one, but neither would be able to afford Game of Thrones. They barely cling onto Breaking Bad and Mad Men as it is, and they’re usually at least a month behind (if not 6).
      THAT is why Australia are the biggest pirates.

  • Masochist

    The Oatmeal comic hit upon many of the major points before it was released via DVD. I don’t buy movies, but instead rent them. Game of Thrones was added to my Netflix DVD queue since last year in anticipation for the release. The DVD came, and then went on Very Long Wait status. I waited 9 weeks for Netflix to mail it to me, 9 weeks where I paid for Netflix service and received NO DVDs because Game of Thrones was the only item in my queue. I finally gave up and purchased it for $20 off eBay.  I was on the verge of pirating it for four months now, and it was a complete test of will power for me to try and do the right thing. As it is… I’m still waiting for the show to arrive in the mail.

    The problem is one of “Shut up and take my money!” There were many avenues in which the show could have been made available to others before now. But, HBO is trying to push a failure content delivery system (HBOGO) and refuses to cooperate with any other entity. HBO, you make good shows. But, not as frequently and numerous to require a separate billing account just for them. If you’re not willing to work with a rabid fan base to appease their want of purchasing your product, then they will work around you and get the product any way they can.

  • surfer

    it’s cheaper to pay for usenet and vpn access than it is for cable subscription, and premium channel HBO.

    • FREEisthenewPay

      It’s cheaper to get FREE SSL usenet and FREE vpn access than it is for cable subscription, and premium channel HBO. 

      That said, I have HBO but I still troll TPB then use that as a basis to find it on usenet. 

  • ea

    Germany and France are not listed because they mostly pirate German and French versions.

    • Anyone

      at least in Germany cyberlockers are more popular than bittorrent, because of the ample supply of trolls there are in the country.

  • http://twitter.com/ZippoS Zippo

    The Oatmeal summed it up quite nicely with this one:
    http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones

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  • http://twitter.com/vancoeverden P. van Coeverden

    On the “wich country download the most” table:
    Country statistics are influenced by the download method used in different countries.

    Cyberlockers are more popular (compared with other countries) in the US and Germany becouse of copyright trolls.
    The Netherlands has a large usenet community.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=724994624 Vegard Bellika

    Pretty easy, It airs earlier in US than other countries. We want it asap, they can’t deliver that :)

    • Huddel

      They can, they just don’t want.

  • Salamander

    I don’t have a cable subscription.  If I could subscribe to JUST hbo for $8/month, I would do it just to see GoT, but I end up having to pay close to $90/month just to get HBO in any package.

    So, I went to iTunes to buy it – but they won’t let me watch it on my third monitor – which is so ridiculous – that is where I watch movies and TV shows – it’s the same computer… seriously?  

    So I said “whatever – I tried” and went for the torrents.  I don’t feel bad about it.

    • Quicktimesucks

      Your itunes rant reminds me of QuickTime player. You have to pay to do full screen!?! Wtf is that when i have Windows Media Classic or VLC Player for free

      • Anyone

        that’s Apple for you

        sadly enough people keep paying for their crap, so it is unlikely they will change their way

    • Anonymous

      Well, ironically, I actually PAY for HBO on my Dish Network subscription.

      But my DVR only has so many tuners and I don’t always get a chance to catch Game of Thrones.

      Now, considering I actually pay for HBO, one might ask “Why do you download something when you could just use HBO GO?”
      That is a perfectly valid point. I could just login to HBO GO at anytime.
      Well, as anyone who has ever attempted to use HBO GO to watch Game of Thrones knows, it has moments of extreme suck with some shows (and Game of Thrones is one of those shows). Playback tends to work fine… but that’s when the video doesn’t suddenly stop for upwards of a half-hour on end without warning or reason, or buffer down to a quality level that would make an old school RMVB or low-bit-rate VCD of Bum Fights look good.

  • Cogito ergo plum

    In Israel, if I wanted to see the show legally, I’d have to have satellite TV, which costs $65 and for which I also have to install an antenna on the building, which requires permission from the other tenants. Since I already have cable TV, that is not even a possibility.

    Torrenting the show lets me watch it whenever I want, wherever I want.

    I would ask for a legal alternative, but I’ve given up on those since Israel is such a small market we don’t have any legal alternatives except either satellite or cable.
    Legal streaming? Not something people here have heard of.

  • Fapjunkie

     Cuz I can.

  • GrudgeGuy9000

    “whos-pirating-game-of-thrones-and-why ?”

    WHO: Me of course

    WHY:I download it because…

    It’s filmed in Northern Ireland.
    I now live in Northern Ireland.
    Seen some of the actors out, they where cool people

    Bill Maher acted like the god of maffia faggots by calling filesharers thieves ….
    Just because they shared his documentary about….. I forget ……hmmmmm think it was about child molesting, or some other thing he always faps about.

    TL;DR

    Just to enrage Bill Maher . ( he got horny and sucked off SOPA for profit )

  • Asdf54676tguygghj

    The fact is even though HBO wouldnt admit it, is that Piracy is just another form of promotion. More mouths talkin about the show equals more publicity equals more sales and revenue for the company in the long run. Piracy to a certain extent can be a good thing.

  • Jeeves

    Scheduled tv does not work for me. If its not on bbc iplayer or the like, i’d miss it. Every time. I own an ipad and a pc. No tv. Without bit torrent i’d miss all the good shows. Also, as others have said – I would happily pay cash for instant online access, failing that, £3 per month for a p2p friendly VPN does the job.

  • Anonymous

    I am subscriber of cable program distributer in Serbia, but since I have base package, I don’t get HBO. Plus, I am not sure if HBO in Serbia airs what HBO USA airs – but I am sure it happens with significant time delay.

    Hence, I download the show for exactly the same reason as many others here said – I want to watch it ASAP and keep it my media library, since I was hooked on Season 1 :)

  • Master

    They’re going to fail. Especially when they try to make people pay for the same content twice.

    • Anyone

      so far they are succeeding
      Game of Thrones is not only pirated in huge numbers it is also watched (and paid for) in huge numbers

      it is just a question if they’d make more money with more distribution channels or if that would cannibalize their main business of cable subscriptions.

  • Guest

    I stopped watching the show and epp or
    two in. I can say that I watch programs online because its much
    easier to watch something after it airs. There are a few hundred
    thousand people who took the time to record, transcode and upload
    each release to a host which means I don’t have to do it myself when
    I want to watch it on my PSP or Ipod. My house has subscriptions
    bundled with my internet subscription so I feel that I’m a bit
    entitled to viewing it even if the copy I’m watching wasn’t
    recorded from the subscription in my house. I could just as well
    build a HTPC but it seems like a waste of money for something that’s
    already available. Since HBO doesn’t have an alternative to using
    BT or direct download then they make the decision easier for people
    like me (us) who want to watch their shows. Its getting paid for but
    I snub my nose at the cable box. I can’t take it with me when I go to
    the store…

  • Gearmentation

    I download it because it is the easiest best alternative… to beat bittorrent you would have to have a site that allowed you to download the file directly in high definition without DRM and play it later on your computer.  Of course, such sites already exist.  So, the one and only advantage a legal site would have is convenience and instant access to every episode of every show you might want all packaged smoothly like Netflix without the DRM, the missing shows, and the need for high bandwidth.  I would pay up to 20 dollars a month or per bandwidth used for a site like that, which would have an edge over the illegal alternative, where I have to wait a whole hour after air time before I can get GOT. 

  • http://www.seanrmilligan.com/ Sean Milligan

    I have legal access to it through my school’s subscription in the dorms, but the time it’s on (what with procrastinating on schoolwork due Monday) is never convenient to watch. I end up downloading it because I don’t know when else they’d have it on and it’s nice to be able to pause it.

  • GODLiKE

    Here in Argentina it airs supposedly at the same time as in the US… problem is a basic TV cable service is more expensive than your ordinary 3-6Mbps Internet (yes, we suck on that). Also, HBO is a premium channel, so that means you have to spend more money. Plus, I don’t even have a TV :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/cmaciasjimenez Carlos Macias Jimenez

    I’m from Spain. I’ve been downloading this awsome show since S01E01. Why?

    1- 2 weeks to wait for getting the next episode
    2- Here in my country is aired in spanish, which sucks. I prefer the original language.
    3- This is obvious, I can watch it whenerver I want and no when the Tv channel tells me to turn my tv on.

    and last, downloading it I don’t have to see ads. I wouldn’t complain if they offered me a good way to watch it. Probably I would get a HBO subscription if I would be able to…until then I’ll keep downloading it

    • http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-4-new-skins-themes-launches/740147-neurotech-hd.html#post5637502 Jay

       How pervasive is English in Spain?  Is there a lot of interest in learning it there?

      (sorry to be off-topic)  :)

  • -A

    Because I hardly believe my parents would like it they walked in the living room while I watched a show with so much nakedness and so many adult graphic scenes.

  • Bad service = root of all evil

    It’s always the service that causes such behaviour. My top “favourites” are:

    - unreasonable pricing – companies try to sell their products at almost the same price everywhere not taking in account the difference of life standard in the various countries. They can’t expect someone, who works for 200 EUR/month to afford the same stuff that someone with an income of 2000 EUR/month can yet they keep pushing in this direction. Especially when it comes to entertainment!

    - delays – this might even be considered discrimination. In a world of fast communications delaying a TV show with a month can be considered as nothing less as stupidity and bad marketing. If they don’t deliver it on time, people start looking around for other methods to obtain it.

    Not to mention that the whole anti-BitTorrent campaign is everything but resourceful. Hell, people curse the bad reception of their mobile phones or bad internet connection on regular basis yet we are not going to return to pigeon post, are we? Instead of concentrating on how to make their service much better, companies waste a huge amount of money to fight wind mills.

    • Anonymous

      Convenience is king today. As bottled water has proven people will always turn to the easiest available alternative. Even if it’s more expensive, as long as it’s easier to get.

      Hence piracy will largely vanish the very day that the media cartels make it easier to get legal copies of the content than what bittorrent does.

      So far they seem to try to make torrenting harder instead. With no luck whatsoever. All they’ve managed to do is throw good money after bad while bootstrapping torrent protocols to the next tier of innovation.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000291242845 Jack O’Neill

    Well, aside from the price of subscribing to cable, digital cable(because you can’t sub to regular cable and get HBO) then to HBO. There is also the issue of time. With most people doing shift work instead of the old 9-5, most people are working at weird hours.

    This means that no everyone can sit down and watch their favorite shows. Netflix is great for old shows, and that’s exactly why I have a Netflix account. But I want to watch new episodes of my favorite shows in a timely manner best suited for me, my only option really is downloading. Sure, there’s Hulu. But doesn’t it take weeks for a new episode to pop up? Then you have to use your computer and deal with ads. Though I guess you don’t have ads on Hulu Plus. However, there is still the issue of not being able to watch a decent vid on your TV. I don’t like watching TV on my computer. I stream my shows over the PS3 to my TV. I bought a 32″ TV and I’ll be damned if I can’t watch my favorite shows on it.

    There’s also the issue of stream quality. Back when I had the best net service in my area, getting an HD stream from Netflix was pretty hit and miss. If you net hiccups, then the stream goes to hell.

    What I am trying to say? Even for those shows on services like Netflix and Hulu, it’s too little too late. Torrenting is by far the most hassle free way to view your favorite shows. As far as iTunes is concerned, they can kiss my ass. I wont touch that service with a ten foot pole.

    • Fuckoff

      hulu is 8 days and the last 5 episodes aired…even then hulu uses flash player witch sucks better (worse?) then a dyson vacuum. Also hulu plus subscribers STILL have to watch those horrid comercials that repeat and repeat. at least with over the air comercia;ls there is variety (and some are more entertaining then the shows they air in).

  • http://twitter.com/reijin64 Lardman (Jaeryl)

    No ads, 1080p. Two things Australia doesn’t get ’til the Blu-ray release. Which only comes ages later, at an unreasonable price. The entire season for $60+ wouldn’t be unheard of.

  • David P.

    Don’t have or need cable/satellite, and can’t get HBO GO by itself, can’t stand Apple or iTunes because of their draconian rules and business practices, so I torrent it.

  • http://otester.myopenid.com/ PiRat

    HBO should set up a private torrent tracker, 240/360p for free, 480/720/1080p with a subscription.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000291242845 Jack O’Neill

       That’s actually a really good idea for all networks, honestly.

    • http://twitter.com/aussiejed Jeremy Sadler

      Their main source of revenue besides subscribers in countries where HBO is available is licensing deals to distributors. Offer an international direct-to-customer distribution and a) lots of angry distributors and b) revenue stream dries up. The question is: would the gained revenue make up for it? A big gamble that the risk-averse business types who run these companies are not willing to take.

  • No

    I am in Brazil and I pirated the whole first season. Then HBO Brazil offered the second season airing simultaneously with the worldwide premiere. This alone made me sign HBO and stop pirating.

  • Tech N9ne1730

    For me, I live in an apartment, and like most apartment complexes, at least in my area,  they force a specific cable tv or satellite provider on you if you choose TV service. I refuse to pay for “cable”(It’s a Dish Network subcontractor who installs multiple satellite dishes in one central location on the property and feed it to the roughly 300 apartments on the property) that suckers you in by giving you free extras and then taking them away after ~1 month of service when it is guaranteed your “cable box” goes out. After that they promise you a new box, but give you a used unit with the extras stripped away, and takes them 3 weeks to activate a new box. I refuse to deal with such a shady provider for my TV services.

  • http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/ Peter Hassett

    I have HBO. When I miss watching an episode live or I wanna re-watch it, I’ll grab it off a torrent.

    Convenience. 

  • TheOiulkj

    I download it because fuck watching it on a shitty browser embedded video player, even if it was available on netflix/hulu/whatever.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1617612448 George Andrew Warren

      get with the times old man. u can install xbmc, which has a hulu plugin, on a $99 apple tv (2). and the apple tv supports netflix natively as well. what cave do you live in?

      • Squig

        Hulu is only available in a few select countries…

        • Anonymous

          …and Hulu now blocks a great many VPN providers which ironically guarantees that most people who want it may have to turn to torrents instead.

        • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1617612448 George Andrew Warren

          duh! use real-debrid to resolve the link! no geo lock.
          sheesh, do you people not read.

    • http://twitter.com/Smsff7 Steven

       I download it because I can watch it on my TV and well since I don’t have HBO or cable, then it makes the only way to watch it without buying an overpriced box set to find out I don’t like it (still have not seen even episode 1 yet)

  • http://twitter.com/jessewcambridge Jesse Cambridge

    I torrent it because if I watch it on Sky (the only way to watch it in Britain) I get ads every ten minutes, then another ad five minutes before the ending. Ruins the tension. I bought the Blu-Ray of Season 1 and intend to do the same for Season 2 though.

  • RandomKraut

    i live in friggin’ Germany and the show
    a) will get dubbed here
    and
    b) doesn’t even air this year anymore

  • Hobson

    Virgin media don’t carry it and if they did it would be in a “package” – most of which I wouldn’t want and Sky is teh devil.

  • TPB
  • Steve Jones Here

    Because the idiots in charge are still selling things as a scarce product and not something that is infinite.
    They are trying to make something that is now digital in to something finite.

    Not only that, they are seriously still trying to sell bundles.  Who the hell buys that?
    Why do people still buy bundles of things?  Most of everything is crap, it is pretty much a scientific law.  People want to buy things that interest THEM, not what YOU think interests them.  Stop trying to think for people and let them think!

    And stop with the region crap already!  It is quite literally being “regionist”, which should be illegal as racism!
    Not everyone in France only speaks French.  Not everyone in Japan only speaks Japanese.  Not everyone in the UK speaks only English.
    Release things on a language basis if you release dubbed versions.  Stop preventing people who are completely capable of watching it in its native tongue from doing so.  
    Whoever invented media regions should have been shot.  Worst thing in existence and the #1 enemy of all media. 

    • Anonymous

      ”
      Whoever invented media regions should have been shot.  Worst thing in existence and the #1 enemy of all media. “

      True, true, and true. Media, when it is released, has a “window of opportunity”. If you launch the hype campaign two months in advance and then release the product globally at the same time you will end up cashing in on every enthusiast for that first week. Leaving only the die-hard cases to pirate.

      Even better, they should put the DVD hardcopies on the counter of the movie office, available for purchase while people are still aglow with the movie experience they just had. My guess is that there you’d have a sales booster worth mentioning.

  • Tabris

    I don’t actually pirate the show myself, but I’m replying anyway. I live in New Zealand, and I watch the show on a channel called SoHo about a week after it airs in America. Now, SoHo isn’t free, but it isn’t overly expensive–about $8 a month by your currency. But then, you can only get SoHo if you’re already paying for Sky TV. And you have to pay extra for HD. And even more extra if you want a Sky box that can record your shows for you if you happen to be out.

    So while I don’t download this particular show, I really can understand why people do. All this money to watch something a week after it’s been spoiled everywhere online? Pah. Stuff like this is a perfect example of why piracy goes up when the legal alternatives are severely lacking.

  • D0sfreak

    I don’t have cable TV and never have. I also don’t watch OTA TV.

    I download GoT episodes and then buy the blu-ray releases.

    If it was offered via streaming for a reasonable price (No charging the same or more as the DVDblu-ray release is not reasonable) then I’d do that instead of downloading.

  • Colm O’ Toole

    Good comic strip explaining Game of Thrones piracy here:

    Titled “I tried to watch Game of Thrones Online and this Happened:

    http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones

    Basically it is one of the few shows not available on Hulu or Itunes or Netflix because HBO has there own exclusive streaming site called HBO GO. But you can’t just buy it off HBO GO with a credit card you need to get a yearly subsciption to ALL HBO shows.

    Horribly inefficent. If you just want to watch one show on HBO you need to buy the whole package for 99 dollars /per year. Not like Itunes or Hulu where you can just buy one episode or one season.

     

    • Anonymous

      A very good illustration indeed. +1 internets for you.

  • http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-4-new-skins-themes-launches/740147-neurotech-hd.html#post5637502 Jay

    I was downloading them even though I have HBO.  But then I found that I can watch it through Comcast’s Xfinity streaming service, so I did that the last couple of episodes.

    I’m not entirely sure, but I think the quality of the torrent file is better than the streaming video.  Can anyone confirm that?

    • Jackass

      the “streaming” in browser based players is flash… (320×240) or what used to be high end vcr resolution… torrents usually have “native” resolutions  up to 8 times that…. so yes the torrent looks as good or better then “streaming (wich is worse then vcr)[remember video tapes?]

  • ofProto

    I don’t want to pay for HBO. American here. Also Daenerys Targaryen is fucking beautiful.

    • http://twitter.com/Haldered Aaron Stormageddon

      It IS how they can afford to make the show, though. If the budget is reduced, you know who to blame :P

  • Jumpoffroof

    The fact is this: The system as it currently exists is inferior to the one that we set up ourselves. Our system has flaws, sure, but as a distribution method it is the most efficient and convenient. If there was a similar platform where the shows are released online for the world to download at the same time all over the planet then I would pay for that, but not with advertising. The advertising part isn’t needed, if the system is properly set up then people will pay for content, that is what we want after all. The truth is that the industry is far behind us, and a better system exists in it’s place for us.

  • Not Sure

    I’m not watching Game of Thrones but I will tell you this:
    Although we have good synchronization for video media here in germany, I prefer watching films or tv shows in their original sync (english) and preferrably WITHOUT ads. The delay factor is another point why I prefer BT over TV. I don’t refuse buying DVDs in general but I refuse to pay ridiculously high prices for a box set of a tv show for example

  • Anonymous

    Amsterdam is a bit dubious since many seedboxes are based in the Netherlands; we cannot conclude that the Dutch watch massively the show.

    Anyway, I cannot understand why the networks do not offer an online subscription available anywhere in the world, at the same price, in high, standard and low quality, and with subs, without any temporal limitations. I believe it is done for the american football in some extend.

    Personnaly, I would be glad to subscribe to HBO. How much does it cost for an american to get this network ?

  • http://zamphatta.com/ Forrest

    I’ve never seen the show or been interested in it, but I have to say this. The more I read through these comments, the more I’m convinced that “the pirate market” is a result of bad marketing on the copyright owners part. I’m reading all these people commenting things like “I can’t get it in my language unless I download it using a torrent”, and “I just want/need to watch it on my schedule, not theirs”. Then there’s that cartoon about how it’s just not available to buy even one goes waaayyy out of their way to buy it. It’s clear that HBO’s marketing of the product is so bad that it forces the people to go to the pirates in order to watch the show. That’s horrible understanding of economics by a company trying to sell a product. Wow.

    • Anonymous

      Hardly new. “Regionalization” has been quite fertile soil for piracy.

      Think about it – you hype your product three months in advance, and then launch it after one month in your primary region – guaranteeing that it will be available worldwide within hours after launch.

      And then you wonder why everyone you managed to reach with your multi million dollar campaign is downloading a copy of your product in order to see what the fuss is all about. I’m thinking hollywood needs to hold a public burning of their marketing departments…

  • http://springboardnews.com Adam

    Easy – by the time they show all the seasons in Sweden, the rest of the world won’t even remember what Game of Thrones was.

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  • Poison

    Game Of Thrones Torrent “Poisoning” 

    COMING SOON (at a Tracker near You) 

    Trailer …
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T84d-lRNLs 

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  • bill

    what is interesting that the BBC has been able to arange airing of Dr Who here in oz the day after airing in britain. to stop downloading of the show, so why is that ??

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  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/RKKPBJMHI22ZE7BO2BHOFA3TMM Volker

    I dont want tortured by fuckin ads, and I will see shows I like, whenever I like, I will
    see shows undubbed or mutilated by networks, and I doesnt feed the MAAFIAs greed.

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  • Anonymous

    If i had hbo i wouldn’t download it, but i cba to pay extra for a channel that only has 1 show on that i want to watch.

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  • Anonymous

    In my country, the show arrives on HBO eventually, but is highly censored by the government. No nudity, no vulgarity, no reference to homosexual acts. There is hardly anything left

  • Truthseeker

    A show about New Word Order.
    http://www.michaeljournal.org/nwo1.htm

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  • Shane

    I am from Australia and I pay for premium cable TV – but I never really watch it anyway. My main reason for downloading this and every show is as follows:
    1. I can watch it whenever I want – I am usually too busy to sit down and watch a show at the exact time it airs.2. I almost always get it earlier by downloading.3. No ads.4. Can play it through my media centre which has a better interface.Money is not even a motive – I already pay $150 a month for cable TV that I don’t use. I would gladly redirect this money to the producers of certain shows if I could.

  • Guest

    UK here. Because I don’t know what TV channel it’s on, because I don’t want to arrange my life around when a show broadcasts and downloading is easier than setting up a recorder.

    Reading other comments I see it’s on Sky, but I bet it airs late, and I’d quit watching it before I gave Murdoch money.

  • Anon

    I have not got into watching Game of Thrones yet myself but I use bittorrent piracy as my only source of TV Shows. uTorrent setup with a RSS feed correctly is better than any Cable TV + DVR, etc solutions there is. I would still use this method over watching the shows for free on HBOs site if they offered them more than likely. Most people wouldn’t but this is the setup I prefer for so many reasons..

  • Ang

    I live in america and I torrent it because I live with my grandmother (im 26, shes in ill health and i take care of her. my husband and i live in her house.) and she doesnt want to let me pay for HBO or watch it on her flat screen. Its much easier to see it an hour or two after it broadcasts, away from my grandmother, on MY flatscreen and just revel my geekdom. Also, my husband works all night long and by torrenting he can catch up whenever he feels like it.

    • Ang

      I did buy the box set of season 1 once it came out.

      • VPNnow

        Congratulations … YOU are a pirate. 

        GET A VPN ASAP. 

        Even Free VPN is better than nothing at all. 

  • Last Laugh

    Game of Thrones?…is it any good? Might download the first episode and find out what I have been missing.

  • Radoken

    If people want Video on Demand, and it’s not available on demand, they pirate.

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  • MAAFIA

    “In a few hours a new episode of Game of Thrones will appear on BitTorrent, and a few days later between 3 and 4 million people will download this unofficial release.”
    LOL people are gonna autodl it the second it is posted on pvt trackers/ announced on pvt tracker irc. Game of Thrones is a good ratio booster if you know what I mean ;)

  • Guest

    US based poster here. My parents are still chained to broadcast tv so we actually do have HBO and other premium channels. I still pirate shows we can watch on tv anyway.

    A few reasons. One is quality. The cable company is shit and shows are frequently of poor quality or not available at all. There are also usually not many episodes from previous seasons
    available, which makes it difficult to interest the uninitiated. A private TV tracker that offers 720p rips is vastly superior to broadcast for me.

    Another reason is convenience. Cable often disables fast-fowarding for its on-demand services. (Although this is usually limited to programs with advertising.) This is just absurd.

    There is also portability. I can bring a dl’d file with me to a friend’s place and watch it there. Often my friends also have parents who pay for premium channels anyway – but who has a cable box in every room of their house? We can play the file anywhere and not bother other family members (older family members usually don’t enjoy the graphic nature of shows like this).

    So there you have it. I’m US based so there’s no delay in release and we have legal access to the shows anyway. So why do I torrent?

    Because torrents are better. That’s all there is to it.

    P.S.
    To the TorrentFreak Staff:
    Disabling temporary email services is a bit of a jerk move to everyone here who likes their privacy.

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  • Pirate Stark

    Breaking News: Game of Thrones Ep 8 is now out on torrent sites

  • Clash12412

    I don’t have HBO so I download each episode. But I will always buy the season on Blu Ray when it comes out. Seems fair to me 

  • Luke

    I live in Canada rurally, only option for tv is satellite which would run around $130 month to have hbo included. I have a 6 mb/s Internet connection with 70 Gb/ month data usage for $40.
    I have a Netflix subscription that I use less than once a month for $8.99.
    Essentially the only tv I watch I get from torrents and 100% is commercial free. My parents and family use my Netflix and I transfer whole seasons and movies to their boxees for them from my collection. The cord is fully cut.

  • Delly

    Because it is not airing where I live. I’ve bought the season 1 on blu-ray though and will very much buy the second season as well. 

  • From Mexico

    Why in Mexico? HBO is kind of expensive here, I can watch the bittorrent at any hour, and I can find both Spanish and English subtitles! (England’s English is a bit impenetrable if you grew up used to US English. The fantasy names don’t help either!)

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  • cmm

    I typically watch the premier on HBO and then go back and download it the next day. I’ve also purchased the books as well as merchandise. If I could purchase a HBO go streaming service I would do it in a heartbeat. But instead I have to have a cable subscription as well as HBO.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1617612448 George Andrew Warren

    I hope those that do pirate this show, due to delay or non-availability, and not monetary reasons, do purchase the dvd or bluray so that it still makes financial sense to HBO to continue to produce more seasons of this great series.
    If they cancel it, we have only ourselves to blame. It can’t be cheap to produce a show of this quality, considering the sets and costumes and cgi involved.
    I’m not saying for you all to buy the dvd-set of every single show you pirate, but shows with a limited number of viewers, that are of great quality, should be supported.

  • Ridgway

    TV is so bad I unplugged the cable. HBO is the only thing worth watching and I don’t want to pay for cable just for one show. 

  • Citrus Rei

    It would be great if ghost would sell hbo-go subscriptions without needing cable and to pay extra for hbo. I’m sure tons of people would buy it not just for got but true blood etch. 5-10$ a month or however much adding hbo to cable costs would limit piracy of all their shows since a lot just simply cannot afford cable but are diehard fans of hbo shows.

    • Citrus Rei

      They not ghost

  • GOT SHOW

    Does this come as ANY surprise at all?

    MC dot TT

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  • Alexbogherie

    I pirate the show for the reason that I’m unable to get access to HBO without a digital cable subscription. I have a basic cable subscription and could afford the extra for HBO bit I refuse to pay extra for the privilege to pay them more money for a single broadcast company set of channels.

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  • Someone

    I’m an Australian, and would happily pay a reasonable price to download it in HD, commercial free as soon as it’s available in the US.

  • Lmg

    I pay for the top satellite package and get HBO Canada and TMN, thus I get Game of Thornes. I also have a PVR that I could use to record it. I also have the option to watch it onDemand anytime via my satellite provider…. and I bought the 1st season for my mom. And yet I still download it, too. Why? I haven’t actually watched a single episode yet but when I do start watching it it will be in a marathon fashion and being in the country, the power goes out a lot. I like to have a “back up” just in case. It is also more user-friendly and consistent than the slow-reacting PVR controls (and I hate how it sometimes misses part of an episode) and not as annoying as having to deal with OnDemand which not always works or is a pain to fast-forward or rewind etc. Much easier with VLC.

  • Mr. MoneySuit Monacle

    HBO is a fucking great network, but I can’t stream any of their shows. (legally)
    Which is absolute bullshit.What fucking year is this?

  • Johndeva

    If they offer HBO on Fetch TV than I would pay an addition fee to have it as a channel (provided HBO release episodes at same time as those in US).  This is the way to go for them to reduce downloading….Game of Thrones is such a good series…a work of art and it deserves to be financially supported by its viewers.  Put it on Fetch TV and watch HBO’s revenues increase.   

  • NobbyB

    I don’t have television. The internet is all I need.

  • thee grey

    i don’t have a tv… for example, i wanted to watch all 5 seasons of The Wire. i tried every “legal” avenue short of shelling out $150 (that i don’t have) for the dvd box to watch it… guess what i did?

    http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones

    HBO needs to get their heads out of their asses.

  • Dansith2705

    This show is costly to make and when ur stuck in global meltdown times with no money are hope for the future Game of Thrones is by far and will continue to be the best TV Has to offer And I fully support this show it is Truly awe Inspiring even though id rather Live in there world than ours and Die for wat U believe in, In a way where all playing a game of thrones against mpaa riiaa copyright douchebags and every other wanna be enemy out there see ya

  • http://www.peoplesnote.org Don Reba

    I stopped watching TV many years ago. If there was a simple legal way of downloading Game of Thrones in HD in English in Spain for at most $3/episode, I would use it.

  • http://northierthanthou.com/ northierthanthou

    Interesting read.

  • Randy_Lahey

    My personal opinion is that “Pirating” is no longer rebellious or different, much less worthy of a news article asking “Why”; It’s literally just a way of life. One click of a button and people can have whatever they want. The days of IRC and Hotline and looking on some seedy website hosted in russia or the ukraine are over. Does anybody even use direct connect or emule anymore, and when’s the last time we heard of a scene group getting busted? There was that thing with Imagine, doesn’t count imho. The only thing that’s changed is that first-run movies are typically next to impossible to find in a good quality version, for everything else it’s business as usual – Gone are the likes of Centropy & Maven (RIP)..Replaced by p2p.

    Everybody I know these days, regardless of age or income or background or race has something to do with it. A lot of them go to church, some of them dont..Some work in law enforcement, some are homeless and drink themselves to death. There are no borders or stigmas or custom restrictions anymore, if there ever were – depending on who you ask. I have found Zero correlation between things like where they place themselves on the social ladder and if they give the topic a second thought. None of them ever do.

    Just today I saw a kiosk vendor at an upscale mall here in the USA selling those pirated NES consoles for $20. Nobody pays attention, nobody cares, it’s nobody’s problem.

    That’s my “Why”.

  • Ralph Brubaker

    American Hollywood TV is dey GARBAGE!!!! Hollywoods sucks!
     I hates STUPID Amerikah! They is stupid and ugly.

    • Desu1

      Apparently Iran doesn’t block Torrentfreak. 

    • Pirate Stark

      Wallah wallah :P

  • Special Guest

    I’m just sick of being programmed by the television, would prefer to watch it in my own time. If HBO pulled their finger out they would air it as a downloadable hi def video with some minimal advertising. Hell if they opened up a HBO Subscription service for say $20 a month, we’re you could download hi def and standard def episodes, I’d join.

    • http://www.peoplesnote.org Don Reba

       ”If HBO pulled their finger out they would air it”

      I have an issue with this phrase.

      • Anonymous

        “If HBO pulled their finger out they would air it as a downloadable hi def video with some minimal advertising.”

        I have an issue with the entire sentence. Hi-def or not I think HBO would be catering to a decided minority audience there. The same crowd actually watching “tub girl” voluntarily perhaps.

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  • Questular

    I download it because I don’t have cable and I don’t want cable. I watch few to zero other shows that aren’t available on something like Netflix or Hulu. So to pay for it I’d need to have a cable box installed (for a fee, I’m sure), buy a cable subscription, and an HBO subscription on top of that.

    I just checked, and for ONE television with an HD DVR at the PROMOTIONAL price (gets jacked up after 6 months and again in 12) this would cost me $75/mo. For legal access to ONE program. No, I don’t think that’s an acceptable option for me.

  • http://www.phoenixstudios.com.np/corporate Herojig

    I pay for HBO subscription here, and still prefer the torrents as the quality is better (we don’t have HD broadcasting) and nice folks downloading have cut out the adverts using their DVR or whatever. I am not sure pirating is the right word in this case… but whatever, it just seems that broadcasters and users are just not on the same wavelength yet in regards to how we want to consume content using the various means that we (as consumers) have at our disposal. 

  • Anyone

    As an American ex-pat living in Israel, there’s no HBO subscription available here. The local cable channels have done a decent job of releasing the series within a week (subtitles only). But they still insert ads in the middle, and the concept of time-shifting is extremely relevant to me, since I work odd hours and I’m not always free.

    But it is telling that most of the downloads are from outside the US, and mostly from countries where HBO has little to no reasonable distribution scheme. I think we’ll see a lot more of this type of behavior in the future.

  • Allan

    HBO should start streaming the shows online !!
    No1 would want to download it then , I guess…

    • Desu1

      They do stream it online via HBO Go.

  • Desu1

    Buy the season 1 bluray pack. It’s worth it! 7 episodes of commentary and tons of extras such as a guide to Westeros, character profile clips, making ofs, etc. Really well-done stuff and it’s only $43 on Amazon. That’s how you van support this show. 

  • Anonymous TV Show Enthusiast

    I’m a US resident and I’ve been without any sort of TV capability (aerial reception, cable subscription, etc.) for at least 10 years now, though it feels like it’s been longer than that.  So without even basic cable, an HBO subscription isn’t even an option for me, even if I wanted one (and I don’t, though I do actively watch a few of their shows).

    The reasons for me downloading shows (first using DCC bots via IRC, then BitTorrent when it came out in 2001) and why I don’t expect to change my model any time soon is that no company has yet come up with a model that serves my needs well enough.  I thought perhaps Hulu+ would change that, but despite having been one of the first people to get a subscription, I’m probably going to cancel it.  It still doesn’t meet my needs, which are outlined below.

    1.  Availability/freedom of use.  I must be able to watch whatever I want, any time I want, on any device I want, as many times as I want, without limitation.  End of story.  This requires that the content be downloadable, not just streaming.  And even more, I have to be able to get .mkv files or some other universally-usable format (MP4 might be ok, but I really like Matroska and don’t use any devices that can’t play it).
    2.  Quality.  Video must be AT LEAST 720p, and at a higher bitrate than the best Hulu+ streams I’ve seen yet.  I will not tolerate noisy encoding (not that most 720p files via BitTorrent are perfect in this regard either, but they’re usefully better than any stream I’ve yet seen).  Audio must be in some form of surround sound (AC3 is really the lowest common denominator here, so I’ll accept it, but I’d really prefer DTS).  It doesn’t have to be lossless, as almost no torrent downloads are either.  But I use my computer as the hub of my home entertainment center, and I have an optical link to my speakers, so I want to take advantage of that capability at every turn.  Especially if a service expects me to pay for their content, I had better be getting my money’s worth.  And the time will come when 1080p isn’t the highest standard out there (4K anyone?), so even 720p will no longer be acceptable in the not-too-distant future.
    3. No commercials.  I appreciate that Hulu+ lets people select whether a commercial is relevant to them, because some are funny, others are cute, whatever.  But by the second time seeing the same one, or the first time if it’s something I don’t care about, I’m bored already.  And even if I like a commercial, I DON’T WANT IT INTERRUPTING MY SHOW.  The concept of commercial interruptions went away, for those of us who have been torrenting since the very first public release of BitTorrent back in mid-2001 (back when each torrent required a separate instance of the client, and it was a Python-based memory hog).  Why the rest of you put up with commercial interruption is beyond me.  I’d rather not watch TV shows at all, than give in and watch something with commercials, especially if it’s streaming-only content.

    And this is why I just can’t see the current players in the online content distribution game making a believer out of me, because they still insist on streaming everything, which requires that I play it in a browser (not gonna happen) with Flash or whatever, that I watch commercials (also not gonna happen), and that I pay for the “privilege”.  Fuck.  That.

    Give me commercial-free Blu-Ray quality content that I can do with as I please, and I’ll gladly pay for a convenient way to download it.  The amount my current content acquisition efforts cost me is on the order of US$110/month (Netflix Blu-Ray subscription + overseas seedbox + Hulu Plus), not counting internet service, so if someone wants me to voluntarily give them that money, look at the above numbered points and start figuring out how to make that happen.

  • germanguest

    it’s too complicated to figure out how to get it legally (here in germany).
    the pay tv channels aren’t really clear on that, they just keep forwarding you somewhere else.

  • Myrddin8453

    Depression IS linked to piracy.  Economic depression, that is.
    I download, because I can’t afford cable, let alone HBO.
    Hell it’s $60.00 per/month just for high speed internet.
    $130.00 if I got HBO & Cable.
    Doesn’t sound like much?
    $11.00 per/hour at 40 hours per week =  $440.00
    $440 taxed at 20% = $352.00
    $352 x 4 weeks = $1,408.00

    $721.00 per month, Mortgage on a house that is now worth half as much as I purchased it for.
    $100.00 per month approx. on Home Gas.
    $100.00 per month approx. on Electric.
    $400.00 per month approx, on Food (which is NOT a lot of food)
    $200.00 per month on Gasoline.
    (Luckily I own my own car)
    All that = $1521.00

    Hell, I DESERVE to download Game of Thrones after the way I’ve been raped.
    And continue to get…

    It makes me want to cry…

    • noone

      You pay $200 a month for home gas and electrix? That’s insane.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000617943487 Máté Bikfalvi

    I already pay for HBO so my conscience is clear.

    One reason why I’m not watching it on TV is because my cable provider is a prick and doesn’t have a CA module (because fuck renting an HD decoder that takes up space, is ugly and occupies a wall socket for no reason)

  • Lost Potato

    Australia in this particular instance definitely! Because over here, we don’t have HBO at all. Most people over here have free TV, and the prime cable company of our country ”Foxtel” is struggling severely ( and no not even Foxtel has HBO as a channel or subscription alternative, it simply isn’t available in Australia). The closest I’ve seen in the form of choice for an Australian to have access to the Game of Thrones series legitimately is to purchase the episodes individually over Itunes, and I’m not even sure how recent this alternative has been present for, and how long the delay between it airing on HBO and being uploaded to the Australian Itunes is. 

    It’s simple, torrents have always been the simple most effective, and convenient way for the consumer to obtain content. If the legitimate companies that legally own these franchises/brands/series want to compete, then they should open their eyes and observe what makes things successful, if there is a service out there that offers more convenience and simplicity, then they need to come up with a way to provide that same service only better, that is their job and they owe it to their customers, especially if they still want their loyalty. People love convenience, use it to your advantage.

    • Max

      Those episodes on iTunes that you pay for are in glorious SD quality.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001051740879 Brandon Adams

    I hate Bill Maher, so I won’t pay for HBO anymore. 

  • Kakidoodo

    I do it cause I pay for internet, netflix, but don’t need cable. Bought season one they can go get fucked. They will prolly cancel GoT like they did Carnivale when the ratings drop some.

  • Bert

    Am from Oz. Download this and everything else because I simply don’t need to buy pay TV for ANY SHOW. Torrenting is easier. People pay for me and that works for me. Keep paying people. Am ever grateful for you covering my cheap rectal area.

  • Salty

    yeah sure if i didnt have to wait 2 years and see a dubbed version that has ads every 4 minutes – i wouldnt steal it, how about pay per view say 3 or 4 dollars an episode, i;d have no problem with that

  • Kit

    Average NZ Wage = Approx $700/week
    Price to watch game of thrones = $20/week = nearly 3% of your wage.
    Doesn’t sound like much, but the average mortgage/rent is $350/week……$20/week is starting to sound like money you don’t have….

    • Kit

      Oh and just to qualify this with what I’d be willing to pay…if I could subscribe to HBO GO online only, I’d be happy to give them $20/month – and they’d get that all to themselves without having to split it with Sky.

  • TheFreak

    Biggest problem in AUstralia besides delayed broadcasting is the cost, get these shows you have to buy bundles of stuff you don’t want at big $. The government has just launched an investigation into why Australians are paying so much more for software and content downloads. In some cases like Adobe or iTunes 200% above US rates!

    I bet most torrent downloaders are students or teenagers with no access or income to cover the cost of pay TV. As a minimum you are looking at about $80/month on top of your internet and phone costs. Seriously, what university students can afford that?

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  • Dutch guy

    I download the GoT episodes as soon as they are released for these reasons:
    1 no hbo subscription
    2 view when i want
    3 no commercials

    In addition, let me remark the following
    1 i will never subscribe to hbo (etc) because i dont expect good value for money
    2 it has been weeks if not months since i last watched an episode

  • Lug89

    Why no Russia?

  • Lykar87

    I download (not only this tv series) because i don’t want to depend on their time of broadcast…i want to watch something WHEN I WANT! not when they say i can watch it!

  • Junk

    I’d not download it if it were broadcast on the BBC (with iPlayer for catch up etc.) . Any other channel would have to screen without ads in the middle (unlikely). 

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  • Shanghai_87

    Time delay in China.  Also, full season two is available in DVD stores here

  • 5up3rf1yguy

    In the UK you need to have a BSkyB dish and a subscription to Sky Atlantic. I’m a fully subscribed cable user (Virgin Media XL package) and a Netflix customer. Tied in to a long cable contact. Not a fan of the Murdoch part-owned business so I could never countenance a Sky box, therefore thew Sky Atlantic platform exclusive means piracy is the only option.

  • Erik

    Perth is not in Norway.

  • I_Bowl_Overhand.

    A man downloads a show, because a man hasn’t the time to wait for it to be on at specific times.

  • AdvertsKilledTV

    UK. I download about 10 TV shows each week when they’re on Dexter, Game of Thrones, Person of Interest blah blah blah. I don’t watch TV apart from BBC News SKY helped me make that decision with their adverts every 10 minutes.

  • http://0xf.nl antihero

    Don’t have a telly, and streaming is made impossibly due to Virgin Media’s ridiculous capacity issues.

  • Ed

    I pirate it because it doesn’t air here at all. There is no delay, the show just isn’t available at all, not even season 1. 

  • Anonymous

    I do because I don’t like Paying for things when I can get around it. Also commercials ruin the flow of episodes, plus watching a whole season in a weekend is one of life’s great guilty pleasures.

  • Anon

    I’m in the UK, I don’t have or want Sky, I don’t have HD channels. I want to watch it when it broadcasts in the US, I want it in HD and to watch it without adverts at my convenience.

    The media companies will never make this available for free or make it available for me to consume it. So i’ll always download these programmes.

  • Mwhahaha

    Quick answer – because it’s really popular. Duh.

    Longer answer:

    Who wants to pay for a whole channel just for one show? I watch about 3 shows a week on average, why would I want to pay hundreds of pounds a year for that little content? 
    If it costs say £500 a year to get 100 channels showing 100 shows each a week then I want to pay the 85p my shows relatively. So instead I go on the basis of DLing, then go and buy the boxsets when it’s finished if it’s any good.Been stung too many times with shows being cancelled or ending up with poor endings which ruined everything that had gone before (BSG, Lost etc) so why pay out money before you know the whole thing is worthwhile and is going to even get an ending? I can’t state enough exactly how cautious Lost has made me towards investing my money or emotion in any show. I’d have been even more sick if I’d have got a Sky subscription to keep on watching it after they stole it from C4.I’d imagine HBO are doing well enough from their US subs and international rights that this isn’t an issue for them, plus it feels like a production which probably isn’t *that* costly in terms of US dramas. Add the boxset & merch purchases over the next 10 years to what they’re already making and they’ll turn a nice healthy profit on it. Unless of course all episodes are as dire as last weeks, which strayed so far from the book at times it stopped making sense to old readers and new viewers alike. If it carries on in that vein we’ll have all given up by season 3.Hope this week’s is better.
    Oh another reason it’s so popular is because there’s so, so little fantasy on TV that it has a huge market eager for anything in that vein. The more popular a show is overall, the more ppl download it.

    • Mwhahaha

      where did my paragraphs go?

      weird

  • Flash

     You forgot the people that watch it via stream, so the number of viewers will be much higher. I watch itin stream, cause I prefer the english synchro and don’t want to wait for eternity til it’s out in german tv and censored. I don’t buy DVDs cause I watch them one time and then it just adds up to world-wide-plastic pollution. I have no other option to view it…like the latest Bob Marley documentary I wanted to “buy” via legal stream last week. All portals said “not in your country”, Itunes doesn’t work with XP 64 bit only 32 bit…lol…I don’t buy windows 7 for a docu that’s worth 9$ !!!! Oh yeha and a US-cable subscription could be hard too in Germany for view on demand…..

  • Anonymous

    I stream Game of Thrones because I’m usually working. Since most of my work is done on my computer anyways, it’s much easier (and efficient) to open a window with GoT in it on one of my monitors than it is to shift my focus between a television and a computer. On top of that I can pause/resume/rewind whenever I need to, and I don’t have to worry about commercials.

  • Anonymous

    Bittorrent is providing what the studios wont.  DRM free, on demand TV with no subscriptions.  Once they provide this at a reasonable price, piracy will be reduced.

  • Some filthy AUS pirate

    Watching AGOT is a communal activity for a group of friends for us and not everyone (well, okay, no one) wants to wait an extra week and be a week behind everyone else chatting about it.

  • Xsxs

    “In Australia, for example, fans of the show have to wait a week before they can see the latest episode. So it’s hardly a surprise that some people are turning to BitTorrent instead.”A week! OMFG!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_CH76QIKXYIFA2FZ2DXC6NUZ24A Andrei

    I pirate most TV series.
    There’s a variety of reasons in each case.
    For GoT, there’s a huge delay (weeks) for new episodes, I would have to pay a premium for the local variety of HBO (just for one show, mind you), there’s talk about the series becoming dubbed (maybe it already has) instead of subtitled. I have no other options (even if it were on Netflix/Hulu, they are not available in my country – but in that case at least I would start looking into paid proxies).

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Xander-Fox/100003333021650 Xander Fox

    I am from Greece and I am downloading the new episode of GoT at the moment,because I can’t wait until Tomorrow when it airs on Greek cable.

  • Squig

    Another German here. Few things:

    - I don’t watch TV in general other than news, football (mostly the European kind) and the odd political debate show (piratenpartei ftw!)
    - Time delay sucks, as a student I can’t afford pay TV, so I would have to wait over a year (our ‘free’ TV channels are much better than elsewhere in the world thought).
    - I HATE dubbing. Please make it stop. In Poland (!) you can chose between the Polish dub or the original, why can’t I do this here?
    - I will likely buy the DVD set when I have some spare money, because I want to make sure they make enough money so they don’t cancel it at a certain point (firefly anyone?). Also, it is a nice collectors think to have it stand in the shelf. I will probably still consume it via torrent of course, because there is no commercial and anti-pirate ad and the like on it. It would be like buying a vinyl for me, I guess.

  • Radiotogold

    Am in OZ on the West Coast have no cable or Sat TV found it to expensive for shows that are repeated over the weeks, And if it was free to air the stations would air it erratically and miss and episode because the footy is more important “that’s another story” I cancelled my cable TV years ago and it hasn’t changed.I prefer to Download and watch at the same time as everyone else does then can talk about it, better than saying sorry have no idea what your on about. Global coordination would be nice same with Movies.

  • Anthonyhar

    I download for reasons mentioned above, I have to wait a week for it to air here. I do have the cable network that it appears to watch but why wait a week when I can watch it within 12 hrs. Actually I have already downloaded and it’s ready to watch when I want.

    I also bought the season 1 blu ray and will get season 2 as well so I don’t feel guilty in the least.

  • Nyan Aeith

    My reasons for pirating the TV show are preference, habit and dubbing. I have cable TV and I have HBO, but the dubbing is beyond annoying. Above all though, I do NOT want to be forced to watch something at a certain time. I may want to watch 2 episodes one after the other at 2pm. Rather than the fix time it is aired on TV. Another reason is, that I close to never actually watch TV anymore. I prefer the clearer higher quality of the computer, and I the possibility to screencap, pause or whatnot. Basically, watching ANY movie on the computer is much better than watching it on tv. To me, TV is a thing of the past.

    These are the reasons why I pirate the show.
    From Budapest.
    NA.

  • Anonymous

    It’s easier. I subscribe to HBO and OnDemand, but that’s in NY. I’ve been spending more and more time lately at my home in PA, where all I have is a fat pipe. So it’s just the easiest way to catch up with shows like GoT. I don’t concern myself with “legalities” as I HAVE already paid for it. But it’s the first time I ever got a takedown notice – for a TV show. And I’ve been downloading TV episodes for the better part of a decade. Somebody’s getting cranky.

  • Mike

    I don’t want to spend AU$50/month on a cable TV package just to watch a few hours of TV per week. The sooner studios realize in this day and age people are savvy enough to know what they want and how to get it, they will pirate. Should a reasonably priced alternative come I would pay to watch it legally! Till then, I’m a pirate, yaaaaarrrrr!

  • eternal

    I torrent the show because like many of us I am poor. I can’t afford to subscribe to HBO for only the one show I would watch (let’s be honest the movie selection sucks).
    I did however purchase the first season on blu ray as soon as it was available so I may have pirated the shows initially but I purchased them when I had the chance.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/HATV7J2TGBIVWZ3UTEPT7RWEQM Ross

    as Jeffery implied I’m surprised that any one able to get paid $5626 in four weeks on the computer. did you see this site link (Click on menu Home more information)   http://goo.gl/UewFV 

  • Rankylanky

    I dl it because I don’t have hbo and don’t want to subscribe for several months for one show. Wen GoT season two comes out on blu ray I will buy it just as I did with season one.

  • Dh

    Here in Brazil, the show is being aired at the same minute that in US, with legends. I’m seeing it in tv, but not in HD. So, I download the. Mkv to have the series in HD, and to watch it again at the day after. If I have it inNetflix, like others series, I do not need to download it…

  • Guest

    In regards to GoT I don’t consider it piracy, I consider it timeshift the dvd’s I’ll purchase eventually ;-)

    Of course, some shows I do pirate either don’t air at all in Australia or have a much greater delay than a week, aside from the asinine commercials.

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  • bDk.sux

    I download Game of Thrones only because bDk hates it

  • Bob

    HBO uses an archaic business model and you can only get access through a cable provider.  My wife and I cut the cord along time ago and only have media boxes now.  Since you can’t get access to HBO without the middle man they force piracy.

  • Anonymous123

    Because i am too poor to watch it legally…

  • http://twitter.com/omegajimes Omega Jimes

    I pirate it because HBO is $20/month and it comes it a package with a bunch of other channels.

  • Guest

    At some point, there will be so much good content, that a normal person won’t be able to watch everyting within his lifetime. That means there will be much less need for new shows.

  • Guest

    I think The Oatmeal spelled it out perfectly.

    “I tried to watch Game of Thrones and here’s what happened”
    http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones 

  • JnCA

    This strategy probably works pretty well for HBO. The only reason we keep our subscription is because of Game of Thrones.

  • Anon
  • R3CON

    I pay for HBO but i love having all my content in PLEX. So i torrent and watch it in plex.

  • Gavinnorthants

     I would rather stream Game of Throwns, via Netflix, but instead you have have subscribe for a year to a Satellite or Cable services starting at £30 a month.  Plus move you phone and internet services over to them.  Sorry but Sky don’t offer fibre to the cabnet, and Virgin media is not available in hour aria,

  • Sotonin

    I don’t have cable. Bittorrent is free and i want to watch it right when it comes out but on my own schedule.

  • gerfmarquez

    I dont usually see TV and I wouldn’t like to be attached to an schedule, I would pay for seeing it but HBO GO is only available in the US i think, at least I tried to subscribe but I couldn’t. Besides that that kind of tv shows i can not see them in my TV with my family watching cause it would result in embarassment sex scenes that I want to avoid. So I just see it on my computer  in HD.

  • Fredrik Blomqvist

    Definitely  because here in Sweden it gets Censored and get aired way later, also if I want to watch the episode again it is much easier to have a file than a recording :)

  • http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-4-new-skins-themes-launches/740147-neurotech-hd.html#post5637502 Jay

    I have Comcast Xfinity on my computer – but I’d rather pirate the video because Xfinity drops frames, making the video appear jerky.  Torrent quality is much smoother, actually. 

    VOD has a long way to go, it seems.  :(

  • Ipodrx

    Let us purchase an HBOGO subscription without having HBO TV service. All I have is internet, paying for TV service is not needed. Not my fault one of my favorite shows to watch isn’t available to me otherwise.

  • Fabio Baccaglioni

     it’s interesting, i pay for HBO and watch GoT when i can, they even show it the same day (i live in Argentina, not i US) but i use bittorrent because sometimes i’m not at home and i want to watch GoT whenever i can, not when HBO shows it again.

    If you don´t have a Tivo or any DVR and you still pays for HBO, and of course you live outside the US, the only second way to watch this kind of show is using a P2P network.

    BitTorrent is my online DVR ;)

  • Deft

    I download Game Of Thrones because I have a computer and don’t use my TV.  No HBO, but fast internet.

    I would pay for netflix but as stated they don’t carry a library as complete as the pirate bay.

  • Gsmraxe

    I download many shows on bittorrent, mostly because I get up early in the morning and can’t manage to stay awake long enough to watch the later shows.  

  • Anonymouse (-_-)

    I don’t have a TV + I like free stuff.

  • Anon

    I download it because I am a broke ass college student with no money and a busy schedule. I don’t have  the money or the  time to sit down and watch HBO once a week. 

  • -Johan

    I get Game of Thrones of bittorrent because it is faster, cheaper, more convenient and better quality than what i get from finnish tv.
    If HBO had the episodes available in HD streaming in Finland i might only use BT as backup. They could try and put some localised adverts, it wouldn’t bother me.

  • Kalleanka

     It takes like a year for to it to air on TV here in Sweden. And I don’t even like TV and having to watch at a specific time. And there are no services where it’s possible to pay to watch it. What am I supposed to do? :S

  • Dave

    Britfag here, HBO want me to have a Sky subscription to watch it. That is they want me to pay the Murdochs (If you’re living under a rock they’re causing us quite a few problems atm) to watch their show. Fuck that.

    I even asked a HBO rep via their facebook and was told there was no way for me to even donate. So I now watch each episode at a friends house (who doesn’t share my objections to cooperate jack-offs).

    As a result HBO don’t get any money, I get my show and it’s all legal, still wish I could buy it tho.

  • Guest

    People don’t care about their profits.

  • Bluh

    I have netflix.  Play nice with netflix or get torrented.

  • Anon48978943

    I don’t have a TV. Why wud i pay more to get DVDs when they come slower and are of worse quality than the HD rips i can download for free? If they offered each episode for 1 USD or something in good quality (preferably many options) without DRM, then i’d pay just to support them.

  • Ed

    HBO made it clear they don’t value the business of cord cutters, I’d be happy to pay for HBO Go alone, i pay for Netflix and Hulu + but since HBO wants to be a dick to me, I’ll be a dick to them. 

  • Youthinkso

    Because HBO is a ripoff. Sell me the one show I watch and they will see my money per episode. I download to watch when I want to, not on thier terms. They will see my money later anyway when I buy the Blue-Rays.

  • Gutteral

    Reason i download this show every week is because im not going to wait a year for the local tv network to get the rights to play it, they’re currently only airing season 1.
    Release the show worldwide at the same time, do this and you eliminate a huge amount of piracy!

  • Guest

    tv show producers dont understand that everytime they release game of throne episodes THEY LOSE about 3-4 million ppl yeah why i say ppl is because well if they would just put them up to their own site then release there with ads and also make that you LEGALLY download it from their site (and worldwide no country limits). Homever i would still add well little delay on release time lets say when show is already aired then immiedly after it is ended it will released on PRODUCER website. All episodes should also end with ad. “did you miss or wanna see show again, no problem go to http://www...)

    Some ppl would still homever pirate it from other sourcers even if you could get perfectly legal, but this would reduce those numbers about 60 – 70 %.

    They could use bittorrent to distripute them. then they should also make their tracker where you can download torrent (and see ads or pay “advanced feuture” that does not have those or any limition etc.)

  • Mcgravier05

    Poland here. Id like to watch the series on HBO GO. It costs equivalent of $10/month – it would be affordable price… But I cant buy HBO alone! the only way to buy HBO subscription is to buy it along with cable TV subscription wich costs another $10. I am poor, and I *DO NOT* LIKE TO WASTE MY PRECIOUS MONIEZ!

     HBO alone or GTFO, Im gonna torrent. 

  • wes

    I’ll admit it, I’m a download addict! I love getting
    anything for free when others have to pay for it. I even download music that I
    don’t even listen to. I download tons of apps, TV shows and movies. I don’t
    like to pay for premium channels just to watch 2 or 3 shows that I like on
    them. So I just pirate the shows I want to watch. I also don’t really enjoy
    going to the movies, getting the back of my chair kicked, people talking during
    the show and the cramped conditions. I also can’t help thinking while I’m
    sitting how many other people sat in that same seat and what I can inherit from
    them. So I download the movies so I can enjoy them in high definition on my
    T.V. screen. Even though I have expanded cable, I still download my favorite
    T.V. show just because they contain no commercials. If there is nothing to
    download, I do feel a little empty inside that there is nothing to download. It
    seems like I’m downloading 24 hours a day. I download from work, from home and
    overnight (all through a VPN or proxy of course). And I always get a little
    excited when a download completes, so yes I’m a download attic.

  • Anonymous

    I prefer to watch tv shows and movies in their original language (if I’m fluent in it), not version with dubbing. Besides that I want to watch it when I want, not when it airs.. I might have spare time few hours after the tv show airs or few days later. 

  • Bobi009

    Here from France, I don’t think it will even be broadcasted a day on french channels… That’s the main reason. The other is that I don’t own a TV and won’t own one in the future.

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  • Jon

    Adverts make me want to kill everyone

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Brent-Alan-Newton/1355656399 Brent Alan Newton

    I torrent this show from time to time and have subs to every premium channel. Sometimes I just want to watch it on the computer and for some reason it is not loading on Xfinity. If they would simply place ads in shows like many a youtuber are doing now (Film Riot), this torrenting would be a non-issue.

    • Flash

      Yeah but it depends when it comes to placing ADS.. I personally don’t like the development of youtube when it comes to ADS.. some years ago there were pretty short ADS, then they got longer and longer…15 secs, 20 secs, 35 secs….and the option to SKIP after 4 seconds VANISHED. ADS OK – BUT THERE MUST BE A LINE…where it gets a waste of time. Like you can’t scroll fast through vidoes if you are searching for something…you have to view ADS before every fukking video starts…no good development. Even worse are the ADS  on German TV-online streaming pages… really a waste of time. Then better torrent and watch without ADS. They just can’t get their mouthes full enough

  • Ablergh

     I pirate it ‘coz I spend a heck of a lot of time online chatting to US friends, and… well… SPOILERS.

  • torrent freakster

    I download because i do not and will not support country block or any other exclusivity bullshit ( like games only for a specific console, xbox 360 games for instance )

    I would gladly watch the series on hulu or other ad supported sites ( sites that use friendly ads that is ).

    But i can’t because american copyright do not allow global access to content.

    Internet is supposed to be globally accessible for all. These country blocks is a disease of the internet and should be removed and banned and DoS up the ass.

    Why have not anonymous or other activists of freedom DoS em yet ?!

  • torrent freakster

    I download because there are no reasonable common sense alternatives for me.
    Common sense as in:
    1. It gets release all over the world at the same time. No blocks !
    2. Supported by friendly ads ( adblock plus blog describes them )
    3. You can watch them however many times you want in full quality.
    4. No censorship !

    well you get the point, common sense for the global internet of 2012.

    I’ve been waiting for ever for these copyright country block bullshit to go away.

    This is 2012. Blockades should not exists.

    The movie industry is actually losing money by using country block and other bullshit stone age GREEDY rules.

    They are getting hurt by their own greed. Now lets hope they get cancer and die painfully so the rules can be updated to common sense standards that support freedom and authors alike.

  • torrent freakster

    @flphpp:disqus 
    > The only culture industry that seems to have any intelligence is the video game industry.

    What kind of koolaid are you drinking ?
    Game industry is getting more evil by the game release.

    Exclusive console releases, DRM, forced internet connection, illegal DLC:s (ie Mass Effect 3), country blocks both retail and downloadable (ie Steam) and the list goes on.

    It is so bad now that modern games are most likely not going to be playable 50 years from not.

    So how exactly is the game industry better ?

  • Glib

    I live on the wrong side of an apartment complex, so I cannot install a satellite. Our cable is provided to us (basic), so I cannot get HBO.  I, however, manage the apartment complex’s Internet / network … guess how we all of our programming?

    Sucks, but two 250Mbit connections to the complex provide a near unlimited source of media for 700+ rooms, and set-top boxes are cheap.

  • Claire Aussie

    I am an Australian living in The Hague, Netherlands and I download all my shows. Typical reasons, I am busy, I don’t have the time or memory to watch shows on TV and I like to watch it at my own convenience. If Game of Thrones was on TV here in the Netherlands I would probably watch it.

    I haven’t watched TV properly for about 2 years. I download almost everything. I know this is not sustainable for the entertainment industry.. I see the problems here and I don’t want these fantastic TV shows to stop being made because of my naughty habit.. but what do you do?Solutions would be good at this time. TV has to act now, or they may die…

  • Guest

    I have HBO and pretty much every paid network but I only use them to check stuff out, if I actually like it then I’ll download it from some file sharing network.
    Why?
    TV comes in low res, can’t be paused or rewinded and it comes with subtitles over here.

  • http://profiles.google.com/scootah Sean .

    I pay for the Australian cable service that broadcasts GoT. But I still download most of the shows that I watch. First for time to air – I want to participate in online forums and etc where people might discuss those shows. I want to be part of the conversation, and not perpetually spoilered from off topic / out of band spoilers even if I avoid the conversations.

    I want to watch stuff on my computer or mobile device, and the streaming/legit services are terrible, or geoboxed so that I can’t watch them where I live.

    I want the version with no ads, and the Australian broadcaster despite being expensive premium cable jams in a never ending stream of garbage.

    I want to watch at times that I choose, and rewatch at times that I choose, without having to constantly cherry pick which shows I keep because of the tiny disk allocation or use the god awful interface that the Australian broadcaster forces their subscribers to use for their only supported recorder.

     

  • mobile

    I guess others have mentioned it, but the reason I dl ‘Game of Thrones’ is that I can’t stand stupid advertisements interrupting the atmosphere every 5 minutes. In other words, even if it was on free to air commercial tv and completely up to date with the US, I’d still get it from the internet. 

    • http://twitter.com/RoccoMD P dingleberry

      You would have a point but HBO airs everything commercial free…

      • Anonymous

         he’s outside the US, obviously the broadcaster there has ads?

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  • Whatsek

    who will win @ last? 
    http://bit.ly/JwdIib

  • Anonymous

    I download GoT because:

    1. It’s an excellent show.
    2. I have a sh**y cable company, in which we are supposed to get HBO, but every bloody Sunday night, there is some sort of technical problem, in which I’m either getting “audio only” or “no signal” (this also happened during this last season of True Blood). The tech support seems to vanish during this time too.
    3. Despite the fact that I pay for HBO, I am still unable to access HBO Go (the VOD) because I live outside the US.

  • Jiminy

    I pirate Game of Thrones(and the handful of other shows I watch) mainly because I don’t watch enough current shows to make paying for cable worthwhile. However, shows I like enough I’ll buy when they are released on Blu-Ray.  In fact, I bought Game of Thrones Season 1 instead of pirating it because I stayed away from the hype until it was released.  

    Another reason I pirate is that I travel all the time for work and even though I pay for Netflix, if I’m watching a show on there, I’ll often download it in case the hotels I’m staying at have a crappy internet connection.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Gerardo-Marquez-Curiel/711630871 Gerardo Marquez Curiel

    Other cool thing about downloading it is being able to pause it whenever you want and see it as many times as you like. I would pay for it if it is available to watch on the same aire date.

    • Andy P

      And no commercials in HD.

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  • Devanite

    From Canada, I think cable TV is a joke, havent had it in years, netflix would be a good idea IF companies would get off their f-ing high horses and actually DO BUSINESS AT REASONEABLE COST, but this is why I wont buy a netflix account, cause its like someone else is picking and choosing what I can and cannot watch, which doesnt make any sense to me, bittorrent is the only reliable polatform out there that provides entertainment to my needs, when I want, and most importantly, how I want, only thing I have to pay for is data usage fees nowadays!

    • http://starlightmusing.blogspot.com/ Starlight

      Oh yeah, I’m from Canada too and Netflix there is shit. They don’t have any content at all. I’m in the states right now and the second I crossed the border, a lot more shows and movies (but mostly shows) became available to me. Don’t wanna go home!

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  • Anonymous

    I don’t subscribe to HBO or even cable. I believe HBO is an addon to basic cable, which I don’t need or want. There are so few shows I’m interested in that it wouldn’t be worth it. Since I’ve been doing this for so long I can’t stand the inconveniences of cable: commercials, air times, and the possibility I’ll be sucked into wasting my life watching Storage Wars if I go channel surfing.

    I subscribe to Netflix, and I will take whatever content I can from them. If HBO doesn’t want people to pirate, they should probably sell the rights to Netflix.

    • BLEW

      If you don’t subscribe to HBO then HOW can you blog about Game of Thrones? 

      http://starlightmusing.blogspot.com/2012/05/it-grew-on-me.html#more 

      Plus you don’t want “basic cable” … 

      Yet your blog … 

      “The instant Robert Baratheon starts dropping f-bombs, the show begins to look
      gimicky. On the other hand, another show I’ve watched from a network that
      doesn’t adhere to censorship is Dexter, and I completely feel that the swearing
      and all add to the realism. Are you ever getting your Criminal Minds fix and
      Morgan comes out all agitated and says, “Damnit!” and you’re like, come on, the
      guy’s a hot-headed FBI agent and people are dying and he’s outright pissed and
      I’m supposed to believe that “Damnit” is all he’s got? Yeah fucking right. So I
      appreciate the realism you get from Dexter, and Debra Morgan, and her foul
      mouth, is completely my hero (except when she’s crying over things, which is
      often).” 

      So basically YOU PIRATE everything? 
      Then YOU BLOG about what you PIRATE? 

      If so then COOL. 

      PS  WHY ARE YOU BLUE?

      • http://starlightmusing.blogspot.com/ Starlight

        Yeah I pirate everything, as does most of my generation. Like I said, I pay for a subscription to Netflix because it is the best service out there and I have nothing against paying for good quality service and content, but cable doesn’t provide the kind of service I’ve come to expect. The industry needs to catch up and start actually competing instead of whining about the level of piracy.

        And yes, I then blog about pretty much everything that I pirate.

        And I’m blue to keep my alter-egos separate :)

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  • SomedudefromNorway

    Ok let’s see:
    -I can watch when i wan’t
    -I can watch unsensored
    -I don’t have to put up with antipiracy shit (which on it’s own is a reason not to pay, cause i don’t support the behavior of the big media companies.)
    -Better quality

    When i can get all that legetime i would maybe pay for it.

  • The Cat In the Hat

    If Tv companies want to stop illegal downloads its easy.
    1) Make the show available to download 10 hours after the air time
    2) Make downloader watch said amount of adverts why they wait for download
    3) At end of down load and adverts code appears that you put in to the download video to unlock and watch
    4) After 24 hours video locks again.
    So simply and will make everyone happy and TV  station makes money from adverts, don’t want to watch advert just do something else why download happens.

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  • Mark

    interesting stats. If you look at The Netherlands, it has 4,4% with just 17 million people. Looks like more downloads per capita then all the others.

    Then again leeching without uploading is legal here (only distribution is illegal)

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  • IT Certified (Guest)

    As a note the reason there are no AU VPNs is because most services
    block AU (Eg. Hulu). So OZ’s use foreign VPNs like from the US (Most of the content
    is from there so lag is negligible[..?]).

     

    As for our TV networks they are “VERY” “VERY”
    “LAZY,” they will reschedule shows without warning, and given that I have
    “a life,” all my media needs to be time-shifted. Which means recordings
    just don’t work…

     

    BitTorrent for OZ’s is like that lone ray of sunshine…
    That one slither of hope…

  • Gislg

    I don’t have a TV, and the show isn’t even broadcast where I live, anyhow.

  • Anonymous
  • subcons

    I don’t want cable. I only pay for internet. If I could pay for just HBO GO without needing cable television as a service, I’d gladly pay for it along side Netflix and Hulu. This seems like the answer to their “keeping content exclusive” bullshit. Make it happen HBO.

  • Calrik

    I would happily pay for Game of Thrones stream of some kind if I could without being locked into some outrageous contract. I am australian I refuse to get Foxtel as I don’t believe in paying for ads and repeats of American TV shows and propaganda. 

  • Gbsr

    yeah uh. i haven’t seen it, neither have i downloaded it to see it either. i have, however, tried to find a legal alternative to see it that doesn’t require me to a: wait and adjust my schedule of choice to my television network provider and how they decide that i should watch it, b: be tethered to my tv, c: endure the advertisement that’s +30db louder than anything else and have my neighbours get annoyed because all of the sudden my tv goes freaking RAAAAAARRRRGH!.

  • Keef Burtains

    I’m waiting until it ends – and then I’ll get the whole thing from my neighbour and watch it all back to back.

  • Reluctant pirate

    I subscribe to cable (foxtel in Aus) and I am appreciative that they have finally realised that people don’t want to wait months to see the good shows which screen in the US first, BUT I am loving the show and don’t want to wait a week to view the next installment on foxtel.  Consuming a show/movie while new (i.e. just released) allows us to have something to talk about with our friends… simple.  Having to wait for legal consumption options removes this very tangible implicit benefit we get from consuming content.

    At the end of the day, I pay for the content, but am not provided it when I want it.

  • http://twitter.com/Nightsong Nightsong

    Are people really so hard up that they can’t pay $15 a month, at least for the two and a half months a year the series airs?

    Really, it’s not a lot of money. People spend more than that on lunch. I’m not a fan of the entertainment industry, but HBO is different — subscribing is like patronage, because that’s where they make their money.

    I don’t want to see Game of Thrones canceled like Rome and other great shows that didn’t draw enough viewers. We have to remember this season cost something like $70 MILLION without factoring in marketing costs. They charge a subscription and they sell the DVDs because that’s what they need to do to recoup their money and keep making more Game of Thrones. They even give access to HBO Go to sweeten the deal.

    Seriously, pony up the lousy $15 so the series doesn’t get canceled.

    • DoucheBagAlert

      You are a Douche! 

      To get HBO you have to pay like $60 a month AND pay $5 a month for “boxes” per TV set.  Add to that another $50/mon. for broadband internet if you want HBO Go. 

      Where does $15 per month come from?  Your Ass?

      • Anonymous

         Well, HBO (also comes with Stars and Cinemax I think?) is $15 or $20 extra here or something and includes on demand. But we already had basic cable so… not that much extra for us, but probably a lot more if you have no cable to start with at all.

    • Maenad

      That is $15 to you in the US; a straight conversion would make it $90 for me, however there’s always a mark-up on price for those outside the US, so yes, paying >$100 is too much.

  • jannamadden

    check out these hot babes! http://mpidyong.tumblr.com/post/23583929270/she-thinks-she-can-do-better-than-lebron

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  • Isaac331

    If there are two ways to download a product/movie, legal and through piracy, people will choose which one they prefer based on their circumstances. If they have comfortable money and like the product enough that they think the company deserve support, they will buy legally. Those without abundant money or those who don’t really interested in the product will use piracy (probably just to see what it’s like). This second type of people will not buy the product through legal ways even if there is no piracy on the internet.

  • cheese

    As an australian I can confirm what all the other australians are saying, as well as other people. We found the internet and now we know ere were being price gouged and are getting revenge. The figure might look higher in Aus because literally no one uses VPN’s

  • cheese

    in the last two years in australia, shows being fast tracked from the US has been decent.

    BUT YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN IT BEFORE THAT. IT LITERALLY TOOK MINIMUM 3 MONTHS TO MAXIMUM, A WHOLE YEAR FOR TV SHOWS (strangely except, the amazing race). IT WAS DISGRACEFUL. I DOWNLOADED A MOVIE THAT WAS VIDEOED FROM A CAM, IT CAME OUT 2 AND A HALF MONTHS LATER IN AUSTRALIA. 

  • Generic

    HBO isn’t available in our area, and satallite tv providers say we don’t have ‘visibility’ to mount a dish (side of a mountain).

    I’m all for supporting good media, but it’s simply not available to us.

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  • zilexa

    In Netherlands this tv show just started.
    And I don’t mean season 4, but season 1 just started. Also, in Holland, they will spread season 1 out over a whole year, splitting it in two parts. Next year they will repeat season 1 and if you are lucky start with season 2. The year after they will probably do more repeats and so on and so on. Oh and don’t forget the commercials.

    So everyone here just downloads the shit. 

  • Still Kicking

    I only learned of this series a week ago so maybe I’m not a typical viewer. I also don’t own a TV and have no plans to get one. To me, the Internet is where I connect to the virtual world these days and Bitorrent is a part of that connection. It is just automatic for me to seek out media that way. Would I pay? For some of the things I download I would certainly be willing to pay. For others, no. What does it cost to rent a movie these days? $1? I don’t go that route either but I would certainly pay $1 for the programs I do get. But that’s about it. And no commercials included for that price.

  • Folkenwolf

    I am a graduate student, and I don’t have the time to watch TV or the money to afford cable, but there is one TV show I can’t do without. So what should I do, pay a lot of money to have cable TV so that I can subscribe to HBO, or download the show? If they offered HBO streaming without having to subscribe to cable, I’d be all over it. HBO makes a good product…but then they make it damned hard to buy. Thanks Pirate Bay!

  • Enigma4405

    I’m an American living in France. Downloading via bit torrent is the only way I can view the program.

  • Anon

    In my country, series like this never air or they do like five years after the season has ended. P2P is the only way to watch my favorite shows.

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  • Kedar Mirchandani
  • http://twitter.com/NordicComfort NordicComfort

    ((please remove this comment))

  • Guest

    In Malta you can only watch the show a year later if you buy the DVD’s…

  • Felipe (BR)

    I watch it on HBO and then keep a copy so I can (re)watch any time I want to.

  • yasyyy

    dubbed dubbed dubbed!!! I want the original voices not some idiot’s voice!

  • mm777

    i don’t have a tv that is readily accessible.

  • http://www.facebook.com/seanbrockest Sean Brockest

    I haven’t had a paid tv subscription in over 8 years. No Cable, Satellite, nothing. I pirate Game of Thrones because it’s awesome, and i want too see it without having to dish out a crap ton of money.

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  • anon

    Speed I PAY FOR IT via UK Sky TV but it is up in the USA first so I DL it watch it and don’t bother watching it on Sky. We are in a global world they need to learn to stop staggering the release dates of very popular shows and movies. All that does is open a window for casual piracy.

  • Middle Eastern GoT Lover

    Anyone who says “oh yes, there is ALSO the international audience” is severely Americentric. When I look at my peers on uTorrent, only one of ouf three peers has a US IP. We the internationals make up the majority of GoT fans in the world. Not surprising, since Americans account for less than 5% of the world population.

    As for why I am torrenting…

    In my country the TV-Board is becoming increasingly conservative. When my cousin told me last year that Spartacus was almost soft porn, I disagreed with her and said there was only minor nudity. I had seen it only on TV, whereas she had been downloading via torrents. When I later saw the clips from the first season on a streaming video site, I just about fell over.

    In addition, they are censoring not just graphics, but also drama elements. One domestic TV show was fined for broadcasting material that was “against the national and spiritual values of the society and incompatible with family structure”, simply because a female character was carrying the baby of her brother-in-law. No nudity or intercourse was displayed. The mere fact that a man impregnated his sister-in-law was ground for a fine and warning. Obviously they want a sterile TV where every element is carefully planned to make an educational impact like Sesame Street.

    In short, my dear fellow torrent freaks, I don’t want to have to
    1) wait six months to see this wonderful show, especially since the internet is full of spoilers. (imagine waiting 6 months for Sixth Sense to come to local theaters)
    2) settle for a censored version, cleansed of its nudity, incest, blood and gore.
    3) watch it with voiceovers (thank God not in my country, but I do pity, for instance, the Germans)

    If HBO were to make 1080p 5+1 mkv files available for download,
    I’d take out my credit card and pay $5 per episode without hesitation. At $10 per episode, well I would hesitate for a second, but would pay all the same. The pizza we order costs more than that.

  • Middle Eastern GoT Lover

    Anyone who says “oh yes, there is ALSO the international audience” is severely Americentric. When I look at my peers on uTorrent, only one of ouf three peers has a US IP. We the internationals make up the majority of GoT fans in the world. Not surprising, since Americans account for less than 5% of the world population.

    As for why I am torrenting…

    In my country the TV-Board is becoming increasingly conservative. When my teenage cousin told me last year that Spartacus was almost soft porn, I disagreed with her and said there was only minor nudity. I had seen it only on TV, whereas she had been downloading via torrents. When I later saw the clips from the first season on a streaming video site, I just about fell over.

    They are censoring not just graphics, but also drama elements. One domestic TV show was fined for broadcasting material that was “against the national and spiritual values of the society and incompatible with family structure”, simply because a female character was carrying the baby of her brother-in-law. No nudity or intercourse was displayed. The mere fact that a man impregnated his sister-in-law was ground for a fine and warning. Obviously they want a sterile TV where every element is carefully planned to make an educational impact like Sesame Street.

    In short, my dear fellow torrent freaks, I don’t want to have to
    1) wait six months to see this wonderful show, especially since the internet is full of spoilers. (imagine waiting 6 months for Sixth Sense to come to local theaters)
    2) settle for a censored version, cleansed of its nudity, incest, blood and gore.
    3) watch it with voiceovers (thank God not in my country, but I do pity, for instance, the Germans)

    If HBO were to make 1080p 5+1 mkv files available for download,
    I’d take out my credit card and pay $5 per episode without hesitation. At $10 per episode, well I would hesitate for a second, but would pay all the same. The pizza we order costs more than that.

  • swes87

    Canadian here! I choose to download shows like GoTs because its just too inconvenient to watch a show in the old fashion way. I like to be able to pause and rewind at any point. I am also not a big fan of commercials. I would say the main reason I choose to download/pirate the shows I watch is because of how stupid television has become.

    I believe that if you pay for a service like cable, you should be able to watch the show whenever you want on whatever device you want. I mean services like Netflix are only $8/month and I can watch as much content as I want when I want. Not only that but I can pick up my iPad or go to a friends and start watching the same show from the same spot I left off! Cable on the other hand is around $50/month and I usually have a hard time finding something I want to watch. I am also forced to stay in one room to watch it on one device.

    Oh and what happens if I wanted to buy a show like GoT? To be honest I have not really looked into it because I figure that the options I am looking for just aren’t out there. If you really like a show, you should be able to go to a website they own, pay lets say $5/episode or maybe $30/season, and then that episode should be yours! By that I mean I should be able to watch the episode either when it airs locally or anytime I want. I should be able to download it to any device or keep a copy of it so I can watch it years later and convert it to play on another device.

    To some this sounds like a lot but I don’t think I am asking for that much with the kind of technology that is available today. Obviously it isn’t as profitable as selling the same episode on 10 different platforms which play on 10 different devices. That is the problem today. It is all these companies seem to care about anymore. Companies that produce video games are no longer trying to make quality games with hours of game-play. They are looking to create the most profitable game in the shortest amount of time possible. After that they re-release a similar version of the game every year and charge extra for content that is already put onto the disk in some cases.

    These companies lose sight of their goals so quickly. I don’t make movies or video games myself, but if I did I would want what I created to be played/watched/enjoyed by as many people on this planet as possible. There are companies out there that send take down notices and sue those who torrent their product yet they refuse to make it easily accessible and they refuse to reduce the price or even offer it for free after reaching their goals. The Hurt Locker is one example that was pretty successful at the box office and yet it wasn’t enough! Instead of thanking all of the people that wanted to watch their product, they sue them instead!

  • Shaun

    480p on TV. Or 720p Torrent download?

    Hmmm…

  • Anonymous

    Because i refuse to purchase a premium cable package just to subscribe to one channel to watch a handful of shows. most of the time i dont have time for TV. I buy internet and telephone, two services i always use. I go weeks without watching any shows OTA or downloaded. It makes about as much sense as buying a season pass to every stadium in the US just to watch one team. get with the times HBO or go the way of the Corner Video Store.

  • Anonymous
  • Me

    Is it a crazy idea to have a donate button on the GoT HBO home page? You basically donate to them what you think the each episode you watch is worth to you. It’d be an interesting experiment in any case.

    I reckon I’d throw in an average of AU$4 per episode. Might not sound like a lot but consider the amount that I’m donating at the moment O_o !FYI: Sydney, AU.

  • Anonymous

    I download it because I can’t watch it right now (I’m in South Korea).  I have an HBO subscription but can’t watch it on HBOGO outside of the US.  Rather than pay for a VPN, I just torrent it.  

  • Adam

    Here in France all foreign series come out about a year later and are dubbed. The series I tend to watch (GoT, Dexter…) only air on subscription based channels. Add the fact that I can’t get HD on my TV set, but can on my PC, and you can see I have no choice but to download.

  • Thomas Hefferin

    If they made HBO Go available worldwide from local servers like the game industry uses to cut down on lag – Aired new episodes both as live streams and available for maybe a couple of weeks after it airs (like BBC iPlayer etc.) They could charge a subscription which I’m pretty certain a lot of people would be willing to pay.

    Fact is - the more hoops you have to jump through – the bigger the insentive to go bittorrent.

    When TV shows are as easy to access as iTunes – Apps etc. then the TV networks will start making money again – Till then they need to put up – or stfu!

  • pong pingu

    I am in India where the season one has just started. Its completely censored removing not justthe nudity but also blood and gore and much of the dialogue even the subtitles are full of characters such as ###**##. I liked the show and when a friend offered the uncensored version he had downloaded i jumped for it. would readily buy the uncensored version if available here but will definitely not wait for 1 year and then see Game of Thrones without the blood!!!!!.

  • Anonymous
  • Harpy

    In the UK and I don’t have cable – it’s too much money for the very few shows I watch, particularly when most are only 12 episodes but the minimum contract is for a year.  

    In any event, GoT is only available on Sky and I refuse to give money to the Murdochs – they are far bigger criminals than any pirate.

  • James

    To watch Thrones in Australia, it costs a minimum of $60-odd AUD a month (basic Foxtel package and additional Movies package, within which is contained Showcase) – if you want to watch it in HD, add another $10 per month.  If you want to record it, add another $10 per month.  

    Straight away you’re looking at $80-something AUD a month to get 10 episodes a year (of admittedly the best television there is).  The problems in Australia are:

    * it is broadcast 8 days after its initial broadcast in America.  In this day and age, with the Facebooks and the Twitters and such, it’s almost impossible to stay spoiler free

    * it is “only” broadcast in 720p.  This may be a first world pain, but if I’m forking out $80-something a month I would like to utilise all of the pixels on my HDTV.

    * some episodes have been shown in the past to be censored – even though it’s on ‘cable’ in Australia, there is still no provision to show R-rated content

    * there are ad-breaks during the show.  Quite frankly, that’s the dealbreaker for me.  It’s bad enough that there’s ads on Foxtel in the first place, but during the show??  Not good enough (and same with Sky Atlantic in the UK).

  • Antmensan

    I have several sites that I pay monthly for content.  I would gladly pay another $10-$20 per month for an online subscription to HBO.

  • Firsidh

    What this tells me, is that Australian Television sucks for real entertainment, one day the networks will realise that Australian as a whole do not love 24/7 Sport on every damn free channel.. 

    we do love Sci-Fi and Fantasy as this proves as well as the figures for Stargate Universe even though it was fast tracked from the US to PayTV Channel The Sci-Fi Channel in a mere few days. 
    but not every one has Paytv (Cable) 

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  • Rich0588

    I actually think people pirating this series are being unreasonable. A
    season pass on iTunes Australia costs $29 ($2.99 an episode) and only 9
    days behind the United States broadcast, it’s not really that much to
    ask of the Australian fans of this great show. Season 1 actually
    inspired me to read GRR Martin’s books in the first place. I think HBO,
    the creators of the TV series, actors, production teams, etc deserve to
    profit from their hard work. As a fan of this series, I am happy to pay
    for the legal version of this show when it comes out in Australia.  

    • Anonymous

      Yeah, but HBO deserves the loot not Apple.

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  • freePirate

    I pirate it because that’s the only way for me!

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  • dude

    I don’t like paying for stuff I can download for free, and if I have to pay anything to watch TV I would just as soon not watch TV. So, in my case, anyway, stopping piracy won’t increase legitimate viewing revenues, it will just decrease viewing.

  • Hugh Myron

     I have a Comcast/HBO subscription and I still pirate it. The reason is that I’m quite busy when it airs, and my roommates are always watching ESPN on the TV. It’s easier to just watch it online than make time to watch it on the TV.

  • Chewbacca_the_Wookie

    I have Sky anytime so could watch without adverts (once shown) and although the UK is only a day or so behind I still download it. 

    I enjoy the flexibility of being able to watch the show when I want, where I want. Watching it in bed is great, If Sky had a way to download shows and share them with our media such as my PC I wouldn’t need to. 

    It is worth pointing out that these shows get made based on ratings in America, it also determines whether a new series is made. It is a shame these companies don’t take into account statistics from other countries and even the internet. 

    It is about time everything was released at the same time, worldwide in digital format, including films at a competitive price. They would probably see their profits soar sky high if they made things easy to use for everyone. 

  • Poop

    HBO just cost too much anymore. and they screw you with these channel bundles. cable bill was almost 200$ i went down to basic cable, saving a ton of money. and download what we want to watch. 

  • salvage salvage

    I bit torrent GoT because if I got it “legally” here in Canada I would be forced to buy a whole shit load of crap from my cable company that I do not want.

    HBO, it’s so simple, you want my money, I want to give you my money, let me go to your website and download the episode for a reasonable fee without any bullshit DRM as easy as I do with bitorrents if not well I’m not going to pay third parties for fourth rate service.

    • Track350z

      Canada also.
      Bought season 1 on blu ray to find out what all the fuss was about. Loved it and wanted to catch up on season 2, but there was no way to get it without the movie network and hbo
      Checkdd itunes for a season pass, sorry not in canada….
      I bought the books to catch up and then gave up and downloaded S2. Sadly, now i dont know if i will purchase the next bluray set since the rips were so good.
      My money is on the table, but media companies just arent with the times.
      Sorry to all working so hard to make an excellent show.

  • Mikeswylie

    Well the fact you have to pay for HBO exclusively on top of cable costs, doesn’t make it worth it.  On top of it, if I buy it legally, I have to still monkey around with Media Usage Rights, which has prevented me from watching shows I purchased from Amazon. I have to wait until the season is over to purchase copies. And lastly, I like having a copy, I can watch again if I want to. If the media can figure a way around these problems, than I would be more then happy to purchase them.

  • Max Renn
    • Anonymous

      Which is fascinating, box office records continue to be broken, Justine Beirber is making how many millions? And with BTing at its peak!

      Honestly I don’t what to make of it other than pirating can’t be the media apocalypse that on paper at least it should be.

  • perty

    I don’t own a TV.
    I don’t own a blu-ray player.
    I don’t have a cable or satellite subscription.
    I don’t have access to shows for at least a year after US release.

    I do however have an internet connection and a computer, and I like watching shows at 4 AM.

  • TV License SHAME

    I morally oppose the T.V. License in the U.K. to be compelled legally to pay for channels I don’t even watch. I hate ITV and BBC. The news is a sham, the shows are crap. The actors are awful. The producers are all high. The companies treat their staff like poo. Why would I aid their establishment? I refuse to buy any merch associated with a television show in the U.K. Always download, download, download until they realize they are a commercial interest that should have their customers’ best interests at heart. Getting HBO costs far more in the U.K. for some reason. Also, whenever I cannot afford, the obvious choice is to download. Imagine, Americans, your cable bill with HBO tacked on…then add $250 a year for a license for the “privilege” of paying for cable!

  • Mauvaisours

    I download it  because here in France, it is an “Orange Cine” exclusive, meaning if you don’t have the correct ISP, you just can’t see it. And I’m NOT going to change my ISP for Orange.

  • Guesta

    I dont want to pay for HBO or cable or satellite. but I will pay for shows that I like. I download the worst quality (fastest) torrent for Game of Thrones as soon as it comes out, then I buy the higher quality bluray later.

  • http://www.facebook.com/iamtheartster Art Sanchez

    i was downloading season 1 of boardwalk empire in anticipation for the season finale last year when time warner shut off my service just a few minutes after the episode ended. hadnt watched em all so i wanted to know what was going on (hbogo was not availabe yet)

    my service has only been shut off twice and its been because of HBO.
    a few months later i was downloading a game of thrones season 1 and the same thing happened. both times i had to call and be warned to cease and desist my actions.
    i dl ALOT of HD rips and im always sharing so why only when i try and get an hbo show do i get fucked?
    mind you I PAY FOR HBO & CINEMAX so i dont get it

    • Mcgravier

      Just pay for the VPN instead. This will teach them!

  • Ansec

    Whether I buy it on DVD or download from BitTorrent, it’s all the same either way here in China.  Studios have no chance of seeing a dime from me ;)

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  • Hokrollo

    I’m not going to pay for an incredible expensive channel like Canal+, just to watch that single show. Also I can watch it when I want, where I want. 

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  • Sdlhak

    The show is not available in my region, i have downloaded all episodes till now …

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  • Biob

    I am an Australian and I have pay Tv have had it since it was introduced. In that time the company that provides cable services has repackaged premium programs three times. Each time to continue to get the content I was paying for I had to pay more and more. With the benefit of paying for a whole lot of garbage I did not want. It seems the aim is to choose a target market and then spread your programming for that market as broadly as possible. What a shock people torrent rather than pay up.

  • chewbacca mchairy

    I pirate Game of Thrones because I want all HBO exe’s to suck it.

  • Bobby

    From NZ here, i download because we have to wait ages to see it on tv and plus i don’t have sky.

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  • spatch

    Ironically, Game of Thrones is made readily available for Australian viewers, and the legal digital download situation is far superior.

    The Showtime movie channel on pay TV provider Foxtel licenses the show from HBO (neither HBO nor HBO Go are available downunder), and although we have to wait a week for the new episode to air, it is available in iTunes within a day of that airing. In the States, they won’t release it in iTunes until the DVD/Blu-ray release, which is insane.

    This means that I now have both Seasons 1 & 2 in iTunes and ready to watch legally whenever I want, and the US market has to wait until March or April 2013 to have the same.

    Crazy.

  • I never reply to anyone

    I torrent because I feel it’s my only protest against commercials and my only means of removing them from television while maintaining my regular TV viewing.

    On top of that, I cannot keep to a regular schedule in order to watch television at fixed times.

    I would much prefer for companies to start releasing television series’ seasons at the BEGINNING of the season rather then at the end for us to purchase. It’s usually all been filmed anyway.

    The show ‘LOST’ gives a great example of invested time going to waste on a phony mystery answered with convoluted talk boiling down to what was essentially ‘magic’ as the big answer to everything.

    I was glad to avoid such a waste of time while my peers were not as lucky.

    We are a society that wants our entertainment whenever, wherever, and NOW more than ever before. 

    Broadcasters are fighting this as their previous model was maximized for profit at the expense of our comfort.

    The internet has arrived and so to the old system I say goodbye with a feeling of relief more than anything except for, perhaps, Schadenfreude.

    I will not waste my time watching commercials or dedicate 2 hours of life every Monday for 8 months watching TV.

    The internet has even provided the much needed, and previously suppressed, quality control for the useless products offered in commercials anyway AND exposed their methods of subtle coercion for the malicious charlatanry that is. ESPECIALLY regarding children to whom Coca Cola and Disney World have become akin to the Holy Grail and Promised Land respectively.

    The illegality stems from the loss of profit and theft of property which is true and cannot be refuted. However, for the stubborn market not to change regarding these influences from the public for the sake of MAINTAINING these profit levels is and has resulted in an inverse reaction whereby their attempts to retain profits only reduce profit.

    Broadcasting is doomed to lose money, shrink in power and face the reality that they have been marginalized by a greater source and distributor of entertainment. They must also face the fact that their profits will peek sooner, rather than later, then decline until it is terminated.

    Such is the way of progress.

  • Reckless

    Need a good site where i can download the game of throne season 3, could find anywhere

  • BTGuard - BitTorrent Anonymously

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