Millions pirate Game of Thrones shortly after release

[Scorpus]

In what shouldn't come as a huge surprise to anyone, Game of Thrones has once again been pirated by millions of people shortly after its premiere on Sunday, reinforcing its position as the most popular show among illegal viewers.

According to data from TorrentFreak, in half a day more than one million people downloaded the season six premiere of Game of Thrones through torrents. There are currently more than 200,000 people sharing copies of the episode through torrents around the web, making it extraordinarily easy to pirate the show.

Australia is once again the biggest culprit in Game of Thrones piracy, accounting for roughly 13% of all downloads despite having a relatively small population. India, the United States, and the United Kingdom also downloaded the episode in significant numbers.

TorrentFreak notes that while Game of Thrones is the leading contender for most pirated show of the year, the first episode of season six hasn't broken the record for most people simultaneously sharing a copy of a TV episode. However if past seasons are anything to go by, the season finale in a few months' time could end up breaking it.

There is also the possibility that piracy numbers for Game of Thrones would have been higher if HBO didn't allow people in the United States to watch the first episode for free this weekend.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/64574-millions-pirate-game-thrones-shortly-after-release.html

 

[VitalyT]

For a few hours imdb.com was showing the episode rating as 10, and the first reviews were overwhelming.

But then I watched it, and thought it was a mediocre beginning. And then the next moment imdb.com rating drops to 8.6, LOL.

The opening was definitely over-hyped. It wasn't really that good, just Ok.

 

[Evernessince]

For a few hours imdb.com was showing the episode rating as 10, and the first reviews were overwhelming.

But then I watched it, and thought it was a mediocre beginning. And then the next moment imdb.com rating drops to 8.6, LOL.

The opening was definitely over-hyped. It wasn't really that good, just Ok.

It's wasn't the wow episode that most shows have because Game of Thrones has been around long enough to not need to draw interest immediately. It was a good episode in that it does everything it needs to do to set a strong foundation for what follows.

I'm not going to spoil anything but I will say that I was rather surprised at the first episode. Usually you expect the worst possible outcome to come true. On the contrary the first episode of season six seemed like a turning point in which some things actually go right. It's refreshing to see thrones mix up the formula.

 

[skyczy]

So here's the deal. I subscribe to HBO Canada through my provider. I watched it... And noticed the quality was 720 at best, and the audio was just OK. The audio had some sort of volume levelling applied to it. Constantly getting louder and softer over and over.

I decided to download a torrent of it... Copy was 1080p...5.1 audio.. And it was amazing..

It's not pirating if I subscribe!

 

[Darth Shiv]

I can remember in GoT they have made the first few episodes of a season a bit of a buildup in the past.

There's no secret as to why Australia has a high piracy rate. Many Aussies simply don't want or can afford Foxtel and there aren't equitable avenues to source it legitimately as say the US. We don't like being taken for a ride. Digital distribution is so easy. They should get on that already.

 

[bugejakurt]

Is this news?

 

[Evernessince]

I can remember in GoT they have made the first few episodes of a season a bit of a buildup in the past.

There's no secret as to why Australia has a high piracy rate. Many Aussies simply don't want or can afford Foxtel and there aren't equitable avenues to source it legitimately as say the US. We don't like being taken for a ride. Digital distribution is so easy. They should get on that already.

Can't really blame them.. Aussies get the shaft when it comes to digital. Digital goods are higher priced, internet is priced higher, and the speeds are god aweful. I can see why piracy is appealing to them. No buffering on videos you've downloaded.

 

[Captain828]

So here's the deal. I subscribe to HBO Canada through my provider. I watched it... And noticed the quality was 720 at best, and the audio was just OK. The audio had some sort of volume levelling applied to it. Constantly getting louder and softer over and over.

I decided to download a torrent of it... Copy was 1080p...5.1 audio.. And it was amazing..

It's not pirating if I subscribe!

Same here... cable quality is not good enough, but I am subscribed to HBO.
Does that make me a pirate for paying for HBO but getting it from better sources?

 

[Burty117]

I'll have to pirate it here in the UK, I've purchased all previous seasons through iTunes but they don't release them for months so I'll Pirate it and buy it once they come up on iTunes, like I've done with all previous episodes

 

[RustyTech]

People...anything you say can and will be used against you in a secret court run by the movie industry. Be careful.

 

[Reehahs]

What did they expect when they die hard fans worldwide. This piracy is their fault for staggering the releases. People should not have to wait or suffer spoilers through social media in this day and age. Surely, we have the technology to do worldwide simultaneous release at a fair price, quality and convenience? Oh wait, if content owners won't do it then pirates will.

 

[yukka]

Watched it. It was good. Was it the best episode ever? No. Did it set the season up? Yes. Can't remember a first episode of any season being amazing.

 

[Forebode]

Is this news?

"In what shouldn't come as a huge surprise to anyone"

According the to article, no. [presumably, click-bait]

 

[Luay]

Watched it. It was good. Was it the best episode ever? No. Did it set the season up? Yes. Can't remember a first episode of any season being amazing.

How about the way "The Walking Dead" ended season 4 and started season 5? I literally jumped from my seat!

The problem I have with Game Of Thrones is that I will keep following it even if it is as boring as this episode and the entire previous season was. Scenes like the Wildlings invasion of the wall, or the white walkers' thrashing of the wildlings' camp was enough to keep me hooked to the end.

 

[SirGCal]

I don't get it. I had a friend who let me borrow the first 5 seasons and I binged it... It was OK but... Ehh...

Still, regardless, until they release everything at once all over in the right quality, this will never stop. I don't see why it is surprising. I think more so they like it for the advertising. Sure tons of people who love it are paying for it anyhow. I myself do not pirate but when the legit viewers are getting bunked and cable quality is garbage, what do you expect?

 

[AccordXTC]

So here's the deal. I subscribe to HBO Canada through my provider. I watched it... And noticed the quality was 720 at best, and the audio was just OK. The audio had some sort of volume levelling applied to it. Constantly getting louder and softer over and over.

I decided to download a torrent of it... Copy was 1080p...5.1 audio.. And it was amazing..

It's not pirating if I subscribe!

LOL Right and that same thinking in life will find you in a lot of trouble. You have a digital copy of the show to distribute if you wanted. In the eyes of the law having that copy before they release it on Bluray or DVD, etc is still pirating.

You pay to subscribe to a channel, its like saying well I pay for Netflix each month so I can download all the movies they offer.

 

[Camikazi]

So here's the deal. I subscribe to HBO Canada through my provider. I watched it... And noticed the quality was 720 at best, and the audio was just OK. The audio had some sort of volume levelling applied to it. Constantly getting louder and softer over and over.

I decided to download a torrent of it... Copy was 1080p...5.1 audio.. And it was amazing..

It's not pirating if I subscribe!

Same here... cable quality is not good enough, but I am subscribed to HBO.
Does that make me a pirate for paying for HBO but getting it from better sources?

Most rational people would say no, since you are paying for it normally but I am sure HBO would call you a dirty pirate that should have their head chopped off... or you should give them a lot of money for doing it.

 

[Adhmuz]

You pay to subscribe to a channel, its like saying well I pay for Netflix each month so I can download all the movies they offer.

You know, that could almost make sense, as long as you deleted your copy when Netflix eventually pulls it from their service, but the people making the content would never see it that way. All they want to see is the dollar signs rolling in from as many sources as possible, even those who have no means of legally obtaining their content, because if it's not available in your region from a legal distribution method your pirating affects their bottom line right?

I recently downloaded a discovery channel show, Diesel Brothers, don't judge me I like ridiculous trucks that are ridiculous, and 3 out of the 8 episodes resulted in warnings from a "Brad Bo On behalf of Vobile as an agent for Discovery Communications, LLC" in the form of a very generic email asking to remove the offending material and to cease distribution.

Never have I downloaded GoT, mainly because I can't stand the show.

 

[Darth Shiv]

Can't really blame them.. Aussies get the shaft when it comes to digital. Digital goods are higher priced, internet is priced higher, and the speeds are god aweful. I can see why piracy is appealing to them. No buffering on videos you've downloaded.

Yeah currently in CA on TWC Maxx. ~330mbps down so it's faster and 1/30th the price of the 100mbps service my Australian company gets. I am actually pretty saddened by that realisation. Their connection is symmetric though so a small crumb of comfort on the "value".

In Australia, no cable provider is upgrading their cable to the new spec so ~100mbps is the best they will get for most of the next decade or so. Cable also only services a small % of the population. FTTP has an even smaller % of rollout locations. Majority have ADSL2+ with potential FTTN so they are getting < 10mbps and within a decade may have 25mbps. Forward thinking hey?

 

[DaveBG]

I have just saw it on my local tracker and got it. It is not available in my country in any other means so I have no choice.

 

[tonylukac]

Att uverse has too many employees. They're claiming I pirated jurrasic world twice, and they have a timestamp saying I did it on march 14, 2016 even tho it was released in 2015, as the file name states. Why would I pirate such a movie then when I could go to the library and get the free dvd? Invalid data. You're really guilty until proven innocent of any crime in the us. If they are reading urls, that really amounts to spying which is against international treaties, worse than violating constitutional law. I don't even get how the cia actually exists because spying is against the law in all foreign countries and why don't they extradite the us spies to stand trial in that country and put them in prison?

 

[Evernessince]

Yeah currently in CA on TWC Maxx. ~330mbps down so it's faster and 1/30th the price of the 100mbps service my Australian company gets. I am actually pretty saddened by that realisation. Their connection is symmetric though so a small crumb of comfort on the "value".

In Australia, no cable provider is upgrading their cable to the new spec so ~100mbps is the best they will get for most of the next decade or so. Cable also only services a small % of the population. FTTP has an even smaller % of rollout locations. Majority have ADSL2+ with potential FTTN so they are getting < 10mbps and within a decade may have 25mbps. Forward thinking hey?

Yeah, very unfortunate. It's the bad side of capitalism. If competition doesn't exist in the market then their is no incentive to improve.

 

[misor]

So here's the deal. I subscribe to HBO Canada through my provider. I watched it... And noticed the quality was 720 at best, and the audio was just OK. The audio had some sort of volume levelling applied to it. Constantly getting louder and softer over and over.

I decided to download a torrent of it... Copy was 1080p...5.1 audio.. And it was amazing..

It's not pirating if I subscribe!

Same here... cable quality is not good enough, but I am subscribed to HBO.
Does that make me a pirate for paying for HBO but getting it from better sources?

idk, but if you two were elected politicians, do the position allow you to access public funds without legal authorization?

on a personal note, my old Samsung FHD led tv died and damn...I am tempted to get a copy of got and see if upscaling is good on my new 40" Samsung 4k led tv...
(I am not aware yet if got is now legally available in the Philippines via my satellite cable provider (dream) or its competitors (skycable direct and cignal)