Game Of Thrones Sets New Record On BitTorrent

[Guest Ethan]

Game Of Thrones Sets New Record On BitTorrent

Created by Home Box Office and aired for the first time in 2011, Game of Thrones quickly gathered an incredible number of fans around the world. In fact, HBO’s TV series broke not one but two records: when the season premiere gathered 6.7 million viewers and on BitTorrent.

It took no more than a few hours for GoT’s first episode of season three to make an online appearance, and people went completely berserk about it. An expected reaction, since Game of Thrones claimed the “most pirated show” title last year.

The wait, apparently, was too intense, because Sunday’s episode was downloaded 1 million times, gathering an absolutely impressive number of seeders – 163,088, setting a new record on BitTorrent’s networks. A look over the location of those seeds showed that Game of Thrones is especially loved in the US, followed by the UK and Australia.

While these numbers would probably freak any Hollywood studio, HBO’s staff is not worried.

“I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but it is a compliment of sorts,” HBO programming president Michael Lombardo said when he found out that Game of Thrones was BitTorrent’s most downloaded TV series.

“The demand is there. And it certainly didn’t negatively impact the DVD sales.”

An opinion also shared by the show’s director David Petrarca, who said that GoT’s popularity is partly attributed to the torrent community.

On that regard, an Australian pay-per-view TV company called Foxtel announced that it will soon deliver episodes from popular TV series (from a list of 40 names), including Game of Thrones and Mad Men, within hours of their US premieres.

“Our strategy is simple, deliver the best TV to our audiences as it becomes available,” Foxtel’s Executive Director of Television Brian Walsh said.

“Closing the window between US or UK premiere dates and the program launch here in Australia is our priority.”

As such, Game of Thrones is going to be aired just two hours after the US, Mad Men will have a four hour delay, and True Blood will be aired in the same day as the US.

Brian Walsh hopes that their strategy will make people opt for a legitimate way of viewing their favorite shows.

“This strategy has so far been very successful, for example this season of The Walking Dead, which is broadcast express from the US only 33 hours after US transmission, has delivered larger audiences to Foxtel (as) more people source the program legally,” he said.

“Game of Thrones is the most pirated show in the world, a lot of it coming from Australia,” George R. R. Martin (author of the books) told reporters at a screening of the season three premiere.

“They delay it six months there, and the people won’t wait so they download it,” he concluded.

…and don’t forget. Winter is coming!