Many “Game of Thrones” fans don’t seem to care that HBO now offers a standalone streaming service. Figures show the Season 5 finale has broken torrenting records, not only for the show itself, but also for torrents overall.
Torrent users downloaded the “Game of Thrones” Season 5 finale more than 1.5 million times during the first eight hours after airing, Torrent Freak reported Monday. Torrent users also broke the record for most people sharing a single torrent file at the same time, with more than 250,000 sharing one file of the “Game of Thrones” finale worldwide. The episode was most widely distributed in the U.S., U.K, Canada and India.
“Game of Thrones” has been the most pirated TV-show since 2013; a title the show is expected to keep in 2015. Prior to the Season 5 finale, the heaviest pirating event for “Game of Thrones” occurred when the first four episodes of Season 5 leaked prior to their premiere date.
HBO has tried to crack down on piracy by sending out cease-and-desist warnings to individual people through their internet service providers. But fervor for acquiring the popular TV show through illegal means seems to have only increased over time. The torrent news site expects downloads for the “Game of Thrones” Season 5 finale to hit and exceed 10 million shares within the coming days. “The fifth season of Game of Thrones has been the most-viewed so far, both through official channels and among pirates,” Torrent Freak wrote.
Though HBO isn’t happy about “Game of Thrones” piracy, many Torrent users have expressed their gratitude to distribution sites like ETTV, RARBG, YIFY for offering the show for free, the International Business Times noted.
“Thanks for keeping it regular, ETTV team,” wrote one Kickass commenter. “And thanks to all the great release teams, a man can count on them to keep the shows rolling in. Thank you, George R.R. Martin, for pulling so many of us in. Last but not least, thank you, HBO, for bringing his stories to life.”
Still, there are many ways to watch online “Game of Thrones” through legal means. The show is available on HBO, HBO Go, Sling TV and HBO Now.
