Indians Pirated Game of Thrones Season 8 More Than Anyone Else; 55 Million Pirated Views Reported

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Game of Thrones, the blockbuster fantasy drama series adapted from A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin has broken several records of viewership since last 8 years.

Now, as the Season 8 has been premiered, fans are excited about Daenerys, Targaryen history and Jon Snow.

But, there is an unethical side to this excitement as well: More and more fans are watching Game of Thrones Season 8 illegally, via unofficial streams and downloads.

And India is the #1 nation which pirated the show.

Game Of Thrones: Indians Are The Biggest Pirates?

As per reports coming in, within 24 hours of the premiere of Season 8, the first episode was pirated whooping 55 million times.

This means that more than 55 millions hardcore fans of Game of Thrones accessed the new content without paying any money, and used illegal torrents, unofficial streams and downloads to watch it.

This was revealed by analytics firm MUSO.

India accounted for 10% of all pirated views, which is the highest in the world. Chinese were at #2 witn 5% share, followed by the US with 4 million pirated views.

As per MUSO, out of 55 million pirated views, the majority came through unofficial streams of the first episode, executed by hackers. 76.6% of the 55 million pirated views came via this medium.

Web downloads accounted for 12.2% of pirated views, while public torrents were responsible for 10.8% of the pirated views. Private torrents pitched in with 0.5% of the pirated views of Season 8.

These figures are for the first 24 hours of the views, and it may have increased as well.

We have already reported that downloading GoT via illegal means can infect your mobile and computer with viruses and malware.

Game Of Thrones Break Several Records Of Viewership

HBO, which is the official broadcaster of Game of Thrones revealed that season 8 has been the most watched series ever, on a multi-platform environment.

The first episode drew a record-breaking 17.4 million views across all three platforms: linear, HBOGO and HBO Now.

On the other hand, Season 7 garnered 16 million views, and the finale of Season 7 generated 16.9 million views.

Both of these records have been demolished by the Season 8 premiere.

However, the illegal and pirated views of 55 million clearly dwarf the official views on HBO’s three platforms.

This means that fans are not paying for the content, and this is bad news for the entertainment industry.

Game of Thrones Season 8 is available on Hotstar in India.