While it was relatively simple back before the internet for a program to air in the US then air in the rest of the world without having to worry about spoilers, in this day and age the moment a program airs people have to make an active effort to avoid being spoiled, or download the program. If HBO offered a legal option to watch the program closer to the release date, most people would take it!

They insist upon releasing the DVD’s of the series a year after the program airs in an age where a film will end it’s run in the cinema and the DVD will be out 2-3 weeks later. If people knew a DVD was going to be out a month after the program finishes airing, instead of a year, they’d be willing to wait.

While a fair few networks do attempt to use legal methods to combat pirating, such as streaming, HBO seems to be actively going in the other direction…which just encourages pirating!

The issue isn’t as simple as ‘pirating is illegal, therefore people should always chose the entertainment’ Game of Thrones, and other programs, are meant to be first and foremost entertainment. When the ability to enjoy the program is limited by outside sources (cannot watch due to restraints beyond control, avoid spoilers until the dvd would also require a restriction on what sites you view…or even a total net lock down) and you loose out on feeling part of the community watching the program, both on the forums and in real-life, which does place a damper on part of the experience (as you are no longer experiencing it with others.)

Networks like HBO have to acknowledge that the old model is no longer applicable, the internet isn’t going to suddenly go away, while they may be against piracy their current methods encourage alot of potential customers, who would be willing to pay, to take part in it!

And after 3 years, I can tell it is really unefficient, between direct download that prevent identification (only P2P and torrent is easily trackable) and floating IP adresses, and a cruel lack of technical and financial means considering the number of French internet user that use illegal download… That wasn’t very effective, as a pocket monster trainer would say.

On the other hand we don’t have such a preoccupying charged channels issue : our series suck most of the time (which is why we are also part of the “cultural buzz” before we can actually buy the physical release – and I do own the GOT first season in blu ray so…).

17 USC § 106 – Exclusive rights in copyrighted works

Subject to sections 107 through 122, the owner of copyright under this title has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the following:

(1) to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords;

(2) to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work;

(3) to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;

Using “filesharing” software like BitTorrent, Vuze or Frostwire violates two elements of this law because it both copies and distributes files. If you record a song, or make a movie that you own and control, you can “share” it with BitTorrent, Vuze or Frostwire and there is no problem. You cannot “share” music and movies that you do not have the rights to share.

If you do so, you have opened yourself up to the threat of lawsuit. 200,000 people have been sued for “sharing” copyrighted material on the internet without permission since 2010.

For Game of Thrones, I don’t even get local television, much less cable, much less a premium channel like HBO. I’m throwing money at my computer monitor, but nothing is happening.

I’ll watch legally if I can. I’ll even pay for it if I feel it’s reasonable. If I really like it, I’ll probably buy the DVD. But if the entertainment industry isn’t willing to meet me halfway… yarg me matey.

Aside from the fact they’re subscription only or their shows are typically only available on subscription channels (e.g. in the UK, you can really only see their shows on Sky Atlantic, which you need to subscribe to as part of a package), HBO are terrible for releasing their DVDs/Blu-Rays ‘quickly’. Both seasons of Game of Thrones came out almost a year after their respective seasons started. That’s 8-10 months, at least, where these boxsets aren’t on the shelves making money. That’s 8-10 months they’re basically giving the pirates to get their hands on it.

I don’t think anyone is in the right to pirate the show – don’t get me wrong – but when you consider that pretty much every other show comes out very soon after the end of the season (heck, BBC in the UK release the current series of Doctor Who as it goes along), HBO really aren’t doing anything to avoid the piracy issue.