Game of Thrones is perhaps one of the most popular shows on television. It seems like everyone you're likely to meet these days can have a chat with you about the Red Wedding, Arya Stark's Journey or Theon Greyjoy's trials and tribulations. However, what often gets forgotten in the shuffle is the fact that HBO is a paid TV channel. This begs the question, how does the show get around so much?
The answer to this question is simple as George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones TV show has, once again, topped the TorrentFreak's annual list of the most pirated TV shows.
According to the site's findings, the season 3 finale was downloaded an estimated 5.9 million times via the downloading site BitTorrent. That means at least 5.9 million people were able to view the episode without paying HBO for the content. One would think this would drive HBO's programming president Michael Lombardo into a fury over the injustice. However, when the show topped the charts of illegal downloads back in 2012, he told EW that he considered it "a compliment of sorts."
"The demand is there. And it certainly didn't negatively impact the DVD sales. [Piracy is] something that comes along with having a wildly successful show on a subscription network."
The rest of the list breaks down like this: Rounding out the Top 10 of 2013, however, is a mix of pay cable, basic cable, and broadcast shows: Breaking Bad (an average of 4.2 million per episode), The Walking Dead (3.6 million), The Big Bang Theory (3.4 million), Dexter (3.1 million), How I Met Your Mother (3.0 million), Suits (2.6 million), Homeland (2.4 million), Vikings (2.3 million), and Arrow (2.2 million).
The full list can be found HERE via TorrentFreak.
Tell us what you think about the spreading of Game of Thrones and the other show son the list through this black market of TV show piracy. Are you in favor or would you prefer these shows only be available to those who can compensate the creators? Comment and share your thoughts with us below.
