Game of Thrones was nearly "destroyed" by pirates illegally streaming HBO content
Game of Thrones was nearly "destroyed" by pirates illegally streaming HBO content
Some episodes were even pirated by more people than who legally streamed on HBO
At first this article reads like your typical anti-piracy screed. It rants about how 10x more people watched GoT illegally (confusing them with lost sales) and ends with how downloading movies can get your credit card stolen.
The middle of the article however, destroys the author's case.
Time Warner (owning company of HBO) CEO Alan Bewkes stated in 2013 how becoming the most illegally streamed show in history was “better than an Emmy” and that torrenting ultimately led to more paid subscriptions.
“We’ve been dealing with this for 20, 30 years—people sharing subs, running wires down the backs of apartment buildings. Our experience is that it leads to more paying subs. I think you’re right that Game of Thrones is the most pirated show in the world and that’s better than an Emmy.”
The CEO of Time Warner, who knows more about the finances of his own show than ForeverGeek writer Tom Llewellyn, championed piracy and said that it brought them more subscribers rather than nearly destroying the show as the article claims.
Needless to say, Tom forwent a rebuttal in favor of writing how you can get malware from downloading it...
Anti-Piracy Propaganda: 0 Truth: 1
Zero sympathy. If they wanted to reduce the amount of illegal streamers, all they've got to do is make their content more accessible.
Release it on multiple streaming platforms, not just their own. Ensure its released globally at the same time. And get rid of the geo-blocking.
The lack of reasonable legal alternatives is what drives piracy.
189Incredibly relevant: https://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones
It's been said a million times, but piracy is an accessibility issue. Chasing your favorite shows across streaming platforms is exhausting.
62get your credit card stolen.
Let's see... I don't provide my credit card to anyone when pirating. The only way they are getting my credit card is breaking into my house. (no, mkv files can't have viruses).
But I do need to provide my credit card info to HBO, which they store, on their likely poorly secured servers.
The number of credit cards stones from data leaks very likely exceeds the number of them stolen because someone got duped when trying to pirate.
38It was only possible to watch GoT in the Netherlands when you were with one specific provider. That's what caused piracy.
31Luckily, the writers got there first.
28We were so close to saving the world from the travesty that was the last couple seasons… I weep for what shouldn’t have been.
27As an example, the only reason there was ever any interest in Top Gear stateside was because of piracy. In my youth, that was the only way to watch it, and it showed the BBC that there was an interest, which led to it being made available through legitimate means in the US.
Piracy isn’t about free shit.
22It's not even available in my own country to begin with lmao.
18movies can get your credit card stolen
joke's on you i've never had a credit card
16If GoT had "ended" over privacy at the end of Season 7 it would still have a following. People would still wear their hair like the characters in the show... It would have created a pop culture sensation that lasted at least a generation. Now we have a funny reminder occasionally since so and so named their daughter Khaleesi in the middle of the "Breaker of Chains" season...
14The correct way to put the title is "HBO's Game of thrones was nearly destroyed by limiting access to it through high subscription costs for their platform."
13They did a good job destroying GoT by themselves tbh.
12hot take: maybe Game of Thrones should have been destroyed
11I became so eager to consume the show, that I paid for NowTV so I could legally stream it much sooner than pirates ha fit available, and I'd get up an hour earlier than I needed to for work just to watch it so I didn't have it spoiled.
9Damn, pirates almost saved the show??
9Uh? You mean they didn't profit at all from the insane merchandising? Maybe they need to have a conco or two with George Lukas than, because the GoT merchandise was off the rails
6I did pay for all seasons, but we could only get it legally through a horrible HBO Nordic app with insanely poor quality, so yeah I did also put in some effort in watching the series in a little more decent quality, but it’s just weird how low quality all streaming options were.
5Hollywood Accounting LOL
5They destroyed themselves faster than the pirates ever could.
5Didn't the FTC just post new rules about sponsored content.
5They should have canceled it after season 4, we all would be better without the abominations that followed.
4If it's true that pircay nearly destroyed GoT, that means that we as pirates have power. We're a counter balance against ridiculous payment schemes and arbitrary limiting of content.
4Good.
1More and more people are choosing pirated video sites because they want free services. This is indeed something unstoppable. Just like this article, everyone is very concerned about where to watch harry potter movies for free.
1I would add the title of 'Most pirated series, but do to the utterly shit ending, also the most regrettable."
1Great post, thanks.
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