Game of Thrones Crowned Most Pirated TV-Show of the Season

_AVALANCHE_

http://torrentfreak.com/game-of-thrones-most-pirated-tv-show-of-the-season-120608/

With nearly 4 million downloads per episode, the HBO hit series Game of Thrones is the most pirated TV-show of the season. Worldwide hype combined with restricted availability are the key ingredients for the staggering number of unauthorized downloads. How I Met Your Mother and

The Big Bang Theory complete the top three, albeit with significantly fewer downloads than the chart topper.

As predicted, Game of Thrones has the honor of becoming the most downloaded TV-show of the spring season.


While there are many reasons for people to download TV-shows through BitTorrent, airing delays and HBO’s choice not to make it widely available online are two of the top reasons.
Game of Thrones is particularly popular in Australia, where people have to wait a week after the U.S. release comes out. Nevertheless, even in the U.S. hundreds and thousands are downloading the show for free, although many would love to pay for it if HBO offered a standalone HBO GO subscription.


It’s clear that HBO (and others) prefer exclusiveness over piracy, which is a dangerous game. They might make decent money in the long run by selling subscriptions. However, this limited availability also breeds pirates, and one has to wonder how easy it is to convert these people to subscriptions once they have experienced BitTorrent.
For now, Game of Thrones appears to be the top contender to throw Dexter off the throne by the end of the year, to become the most pirated TV-show of 2012.
–
Below we have compiled a list of the most downloaded TV-shows worldwide (estimates per single episode) for the spring season up until June 1st 2012, together with the viewer average for TV in the US. The data for the top 10 is collected by TorrentFreak from several sources, including reports from all public BitTorrent trackers.

.........................Downloads vs US Tv viewers (est)
1 Game of Thrones 3,900,000-4,200,000
2 How I Met Your Mother 2,830,000-8,870,000
3 The Big Bang Theory 2,750,000-15,040,000
4 House 2,310,000-8,720,000
5 Mad Men 1,870,000-9,780,000
6 Modern Family 1,800,000-10,600,000
7 Revenge 1,730,000-7,850,000
8 Desperate Housewives 1,660,000-11,120,000
9 Family Guy 1,600,000-5,740,000
10 Supernatural 1,540,000-1,780,000

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Stolen rather shamelessly from You Laugh, You Lose

Dermighty

Great picture.

They wont get a cent off me for G.O.T. anyway

James McNulty

From pic above, "Impossible proportioned girls who want to date my testicles":eek:. Jaysus, if thats sleazy advertising, download away

NinjaK

when is the new season starting does anyone know?

Jax Teller

Can't believe that crap How I met your mother is that popular .

Einhard

Does anyone think that this kinda thing will have an impact on what is made in future? GoT is a hugely expensive show to produce, and if HBO are losing millions because people are stealing their wares rather than paying for them, are they likely to pump money into shows of such ambition in future? Are the fans really shooting themselves in the foot?

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

definitely

the likes of CSI and whatever can still get made in some fashion as they can throw a box of wheatos or a bottle of heineken in the shot and make a little cash from that.. sci fi/fantasy is ****ed and forums will be filled of people giving out that 'nobody makes good tv' anymore

Johnny Johnson

Einhard wrote: »

Does anyone think that this kinda thing will have an impact on what is made in future?

After finding season one on my PC I did go out and buy it on bluray. I wouldn't be surprised if many more did the same. I will buy season 2 also and watch them all again before season 3 airs.

Einhard

Einhard wrote: »

Does anyone think that this kinda thing will have an impact on what is made in future? GoT is a hugely expensive show to produce, and if HBO are losing millions because people are stealing their wares rather than paying for them, are they likely to pump money into shows of such ambition in future? Are the fans really shooting themselves in the foot?

You know what? No. The fans aren't the ones that are shooting themselves in the foot, the networks are. It's their own fault that they make the watching of those shows rather difficult. It's about time that they completely restructured how they do things.

_AVALANCHE_

Deleted User wrote: »

You know what? No. The fans aren't the ones that are shooting themselves in the foot, the networks are. It's their own fault that they make the watching of those shows rather difficult. It's about time that they completely restructured how they do things.

https://torrentfreak.com/riaa-wants-search-engines-to-censor-pirate-sites-120606/

In a prepared statement, Sherman begins by pointing out that the image of the music business as an innovation-shy industry is misplaced. DRM-free downloads, unlimited streaming, free ad-supported streaming and music backups in the cloud are a few highlighted examples of innovative developments.

^^^^, none of which they wanted.:rolleyes:



Canadian IP Lobby Calls For ACTA, SOPA & Warrantless Search

Bill C30, the country's much-maligned warrantless internet surveillance bill, is coming back with new provisions that would give the U.S. government access to Canadian citizens' private data.

Einhard

Deleted User wrote: »

You know what? No. The fans aren't the ones that are shooting themselves in the foot, the networks are. It's their own fault that they make the watching of those shows rather difficult. It's about time that they completely restructured how they do things.

You have a point there. I wanted a particular episode of the Simpsons recently, and when I searched for it online, I found a link directing me to amazon.com where I could purchase the episode for downlaod for $1.99. However, when I went to make the purchase I was informed that I could only do so from America. I thought it was absolutely ridiculous. I ended up streaming it, and the makers lost out on revenue.

Having said that however, is it not a bit naive to think that the only reason fans download illegally is because it's more convenient? I think that, for a lot of people, getting something for free beats paying for something every time.

Einhard

Einhard wrote: »

You have a point there. I wanted a particular episode of the Simpsons recently, and when I searched for it online, I found a link directing me to amazon.com where I could purchase the episode for downlaod for $1.99. However, when I went to make the purchase I was informed that I could only do so from America. I thought it was absolutely ridiculous. I ended up streaming it, and the makers lost out on revenue.

Having said that however, is it not a bit naive to think that the only reason fans download illegally is because it's more convenient? I think that, for a lot of people, getting something for free beats paying for something every time.

Yes, you would get some people that would download stuff just because it's free, but I'd say there are a large portion that are more than willing to pay for an episode if it were available to do so. This region-locking doesn't fit in with this day and age and it should be made fully redundant.

johnny_ultimate

HBO almost deserve to be as pirated as they are. As a customer of NTL, it's actually impossible for me to watch an episode of GoT legally without switching over to Sky, which I can't do for various financial reasons (not to mention Sky don't offer broadband packages ). I'm one of those increasingly rare people who would actually pay for an episode of a show if was available on iTunes. But no, HBO don't even allow that until the show has passed its expiry date, which is useless for a spoiler heavy show such as GoT (had to stop someone on the nightlink talking about the finale last night because I haven't even watched any of season 2 yet :pac:).

Rights issues blah blah blah. HBO (and to a lesser degree AMC and the other networks) don't seem to realise they're in a borderless world, and need to start recognising they're only shooting themselves in the foot. Of course HBO need to retain some level of 'prestige' to keep subscribers, but that doesn't apply here where only one service provider offers the show (which is absolutely ludicrous). Even in America, HBO's rejection of Hulu, Netflix etc... is winning them no friends.

Being perfectly honest? I think TV is the only medium at the moment where piracy is genuinely justified, because the stations seem completely ignorant of the way the world works, and are cutting off huge amounts of revenue because of it.

I somewhat agree, but believe that the TV and Film world are both where pirating is justified. There are still differences in release dates for movies, meaning that those who aren't able to see it in their country will likely pirate it. The way to cure piracy in the Film world is by having universal release dates, in both cinemas and digitally.

Truth be told, piracy is never going to go away, much like smuggling won't; when you make something illegal, there are people that will figure out how to do it regardless, just because they can. Rather than clamping down on it fully, they should work with it. Remove region blocks, have universal releases of their shows on both the TV and digitally simultaneously.

mikemac1

The boxset should be ready to go the moment the series is over
It's fresh in people's minds and sales will be high

Was the same with 24, series over around April and they only release the boxset around November, ridiculous


And +1 for universal release dates, I wanted to watch The Blind Side but it was released in Europe 5 months after America
Who is going to wait 5 months?

ixoy

HBO were asked recently if they'd cater for a Web channel to show their content rather than just TV. The idea being you could subscribe to the web channel and not the rest of the HBO package - not happening. Instead you have to not only buy the basic HBO cable package but you have to also buy cable itself from one of the providers they've done exclusive deals with.
It's the same here then - you want it, you need to pay Sky money. Not happening for me - too expensive for just one station.

We now are more and more living in a world with instant access. The old models need to be discarded (including TV ratings while we're at it). There's revenue to be made in alternative forms.
Why not, for example, go back and look at that Web channel - an online station with access to their catalogue of shows. People would pay for it - not all of course, but more than their current offering of zero.
Or deal with Hulu / Netflix instead of.. nobody.
Their DVDs (which are over priced) coming out so late of course doesn't help - they're almost encouraging us to pirate.

HBO are the Disney of the TV world and it needs to change (I'm picking on Disney because they still delay their movies - 'Brave' is out in June in the US but August for us).

johnny_ultimate

American cinema is actually getting much better in terms of tightening release dates. Prometheus and Battleship are both notable as high-profile blockbusters that got a release over here before the States - more than a month in the case of Battleship, if I'm not mistaken. There's exceptions, mind - Pixar are still really bad at getting their films out on time - but there's been a noticeable shift towards universal release dates in Hollywood at least.

Now independent and world cinema is a different kettle of fish. The reason The Blind Side would have taken so long, for example, is because it was never intended to be a smash hit, and certainly wasn't a film with an international market in mind (Christian-themed American football film?). It takes time to react to 'sleeper hits', which is why there'll sometimes be a gap. You also see it in television - it's noteworthy that a new 'hit' show may debut internationally months after the US, but the more successful it grows the closer it will come to simultaneous release (Lost and Mad Men being two high profile examples). There are also rights issues bogging down world cinema - as a fan of Japanese cinema, some of the restrictions placed upon international releases are mind-boggling.

On the whole, though, the cinema itself remains a draw for many, which is a slight complication in the whole piracy argument. The companies certainly still deserve criticism and do themselves no favours, but the gap between cinema and digital release is ever decreasing (iTunes US actually have some films before their theatrical release, for example). Sure, it's still imperfect especially for those who live outside cinema friendly cities, but new US cinema on the whole more easily accessible to the general public than US television, which is a little absurd.

mrkite77

Einhard wrote: »

Are the fans really shooting themselves in the foot?

No.. HBO is. You can't just subscribe to HBO, you have to subscribe to digital cable. Looking online, the cheapest comcast package that's hbo-ready is $60 a month.. plus $15 for HBO, so you're paying $75/mo to get HBO. Here's the kicker, HBO only gets $8/mo out of that $75/mo... the rest go to all the other channels and comcast.

People want HBO to offer their streaming service directly to the customers, bypassing the cable company. HBO says they won't ever do that because the cable companies provide customer service and advertising for them.

That's their official stance anyway. The president of HBO has said in the past that internet streaming is a "passing fad". I believe that's their real reason.. the president of HBO is an idiot.

krudler

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

HBO almost deserve to be as pirated as they are. As a customer of NTL, it's actually impossible for me to watch an episode of GoT legally without switching over to Sky, which I can't do for various financial reasons (not to mention Sky don't offer broadband packages ). I'm one of those increasingly rare people who would actually pay for an episode of a show if was available on iTunes. But no, HBO don't even allow that until the show has passed its expiry date, which is useless for a spoiler heavy show such as GoT (had to stop someone on the nightlink talking about the finale last night because I haven't even watched any of season 2 yet :pac:).

Rights issues blah blah blah. HBO (and to a lesser degree AMC and the other networks) don't seem to realise they're in a borderless world, and need to start recognising they're only shooting themselves in the foot. Of course HBO need to retain some level of 'prestige' to keep subscribers, but that doesn't apply here where only one service provider offers the show (which is absolutely ludicrous). Even in America, HBO's rejection of Hulu, Netflix etc... is winning them no friends.

Being perfectly honest? I think TV is the only medium at the moment where piracy is genuinely justified, because the stations seem completely ignorant of the way the world works, and are cutting off huge amounts of revenue because of it.

I'd happily pay 2 quid an episode or something for GoT as long as it was in HD, would have no problem doing, its a show I enjoy, want to support the funding of etc. but I cant, so I download it,and then buy the blu-ray set.

Clareman

Programs are having more and more product placement (where's my thread on the subject) because of all the downloads or people TiVo'ing the shows and skipping ads, the CW has more and more "banner" ads across the bottom of the screen, expect to see more and more of that.

IMVHO, the reason How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory have so many downloads is because they are only 20 minutes long (~175 megs) and as a result have a lot of seeders, all the other shows are all 42 minutes long and are bigger downloads.

Finally, I wonder how they come across these figures? What trackers are they using?

Clareman

Clareman wrote: »

Programs are having more and more product placement (where's my thread on the subject) because of all the downloads or people TiVo'ing the shows and skipping ads, the CW has more and more "banner" ads across the bottom of the screen, expect to see more and more of that.

IMVHO, the reason How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory have so many downloads is because they are only 20 minutes long (~175 megs) and as a result have a lot of seeders, all the other shows are all 42 minutes long and are bigger downloads.

Finally, I wonder how they come across these figures? What trackers are they using?

Rather than having a tracker, I would assume there's some counter attached to download links that increase by one each time someone clicks. I might be wrong.

Clareman

Most places you would download from wouldn't keep any records of any clicks or anything like that in case they were indited, most torrents would go through a central tracker like openbittorrent or something like that where the numbers could be taken from.

_AVALANCHE_

mrkite77 wrote: »

That's their official stance anyway. The president of HBO has said in the past that internet streaming is a "passing fad". I believe that's their real reason.. the president of HBO is an idiot.

He's probably coming from the view that it's gonna be stumped out eventually. There's some really bad laws/regulations that are slowly being passed bit by bit around the world.

VPN use is really starting to take off with downloaders now trying to cover their ass, some of the execs have commented that that is a win for their side and are looking at getting rid of VPNs now.

_AVALANCHE_

http://takemymoneyhbo.com/

mrkite77

_AVALANCHE_ wrote: »

He's probably coming from the view that it's gonna be stumped out eventually. There's some really bad laws/regulations that are slowly being passed bit by bit around the world.

He's coming from the point of view that once the economy improves, people will switch back to cable, and drop netflix and hulu.

squonk

Anyone remember the Who Killed Monty Burns Simpsons Episode? Back in the day this episode aired in the US and was shown here 6-9 months later. Some betting shop decided to give odds on who the perp was and got cleaned out because students who were on holidays in the States already knew the answer and bet accordingly. Nowadays you don't even have to get on a plane to find out what happened on last night's Simpsons episode. This is the problem. Even if I'm honest and adamant about paying for the content I view, odds are that I'm gong to run into some pretty big spoilers during daily surfing before the episode airs over here. The option for many is to download because you just can't buy the episodes here or you need a Sky subscription; something that a lot of people don't want or have.

I watch a good amount of downloaded content because shows I want to watch either aren't shown here terrestrially or are shown at hours that don't fit my lifestyle. I could pvr them but then if a match runs late or something like that, you're going to perhaps miss an ending, which can be important!

A lot of great shows come along each year that are cancelled relatively quickly due to poor ratings. I would actually like to be counted as a viewer. I do believe that I should be paying for shows I like. I will in time end up buying GoT on a HD media format. I'm not convinced right now I need a BluRay player however. Looking at a documentary made by Hugh Laurie for the House finale, I was amazed to see that it took about 400 people to make that show. I do think it's fair to pay these people for their work but the content providers make it very hard for those of us who love TV to do so.

Right now I pay €6.99 for Netflix and for that I can watch a whole bunch of old or not so popular TV shows. The same goes for movies. That's fine and it fills a gap but it would be great if I could come home tonight and watch some shows that aired in the US last night. It would be even better if I could watch the shows on the same day as they air in the US but with time difference, I think watching today's shows tomorrow is as good as it will get. I would be happy to pay more for that and I'd be happy knowing that my viewing figures counted for a show that I liked. Sadly, I can't see this happening any time soon. This is the only way pirating will be curtailed. Some will not choose to pay and continue to pirate but there will always be that reality. Those of us who love TV however will have the means to support the shows we love and to ensure that good shows keep being made.

Waist of internet usage. Spoiler Alert!! Nothing happens

Antar Bolaeisk

mrkite77 wrote: »

That's their official stance anyway. The president of HBO has said in the past that internet streaming is a "passing fad". I believe that's their real reason.. the president of HBO is an idiot.

That's like saying the internet is a passing fad

I have a Netflix subscription...

I have multiple on demand services which I use on a regular enough basis...

I have a large selection of DVD boxsets which I'm constantly adding to....


....and yet I still download a large amount.


The reason is simply that the pirate groups offer a far better service. Without even needing to think I get home in the evening, fire up my media centre and there's the latest episode of whatever show waiting for me. I actually pay a small amount of cash, money I would rather went to the guys who made the show, simply because this is the best way for me to watch what I want to watch. No network or tv company has come close to this level of ease nor will they without a vast paradigm shift in the way they do business.

johnny_ultimate

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

American cinema is actually getting much better in terms of tightening release dates. Prometheus and Battleship are both notable as high-profile blockbusters that got a release over here before the States - more than a month in the case of Battleship, if I'm not mistaken. There's exceptions, mind - Pixar are still really bad at getting their films out on time - but there's been a noticeable shift towards universal release dates in Hollywood at least.

Now independent and world cinema is a different kettle of fish. The reason The Blind Side would have taken so long, for example, is because it was never intended to be a smash hit, and certainly wasn't a film with an international market in mind (Christian-themed American football film?). It takes time to react to 'sleeper hits', which is why there'll sometimes be a gap. You also see it in television - it's noteworthy that a new 'hit' show may debut internationally months after the US, but the more successful it grows the closer it will come to simultaneous release (Lost and Mad Men being two high profile examples). There are also rights issues bogging down world cinema - as a fan of Japanese cinema, some of the restrictions placed upon international releases are mind-boggling.

On the whole, though, the cinema itself remains a draw for many, which is a slight complication in the whole piracy argument. The companies certainly still deserve criticism and do themselves no favours, but the gap between cinema and digital release is ever decreasing (iTunes US actually have some films before their theatrical release, for example). Sure, it's still imperfect especially for those who live outside cinema friendly cities, but new US cinema on the whole more easily accessible to the general public than US television, which is a little absurd.

I have to say it's nice now that big differences in release dates for films are annoying, it's not so long ago that it was expected, now it's the exception.

Anyway with TV piracy I believe the 1 download = 1 lost viewer/subscriber idea is even less accurate than 1 download = 1 less person at the cinema.

Yakuza

squonk wrote: »

Anyone remember the Who Killed Monty Burns Simpsons Episode? Back in the day this episode aired in the US and was shown here 6-9 months later. Some betting shop decided to give odds on who the perp was and got cleaned out because students who were on holidays in the States already knew the answer and bet accordingly.

Incorrect. It aired only a week after it went out in the States. I do remember reading about some student who won £9000 (or was it £1900? I misremember, as Tyrion would say) by betting on Maggie, having flown home during the week after it aired in the US. Simpsons episode airings on Sky were generally a week after their US airing.