Game of Thrones being torrented along with other TV shows (and, really, films, music, games and software) have been a hot button issue recently. With last month’s Pirate Bay takedown where Swedish police explained that the server raid was executed due to “violations of copyright law”, piracy has been at the fore of tech news. It is a particularly relevant issue as copyright law and subsequent enforcement is at the heart of the problem. Internet activists, massive international conglomerates, and content creators alike all have a stake in determining how best to stop (or allow) the ability to pirate content. So, it makes it particularly timely that a security firm called Excipio has released its list of the 10 most pirated TV shows of 2014 which has the Game of Thrones topping out the list by. Without further ado, here is the shakedown for the most pirated tv shows worldwide:
10. 4.211 million downloads – The Blacklist on NBC
9. 14.910 million downloads – Suits on the USA Network
8. 16.332 million downloads – Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC
7. 20.282 million downloads – How I Met Your Mother on CBS
6. 21.201 million downloads – Supernatural on CW
5. 22.921 million downloads – The Vampire Diaries on CW
4. 29.296 million downloads – Arrow on CW
3. 33.431 million downloads – The Big Bang Theory on CBS
2. 47.642 million downloads – The Walking Dead on AMC
1. 48.369 million downloads – Game of Thrones on HBO
It should come as no surprise that the Game of Thrones was the most torrented show (thanks to HBO’s notoriously tight grasp on its content) but I was quite surprised by the number of CW shows that made the list. So which countries were the largest perpetrators of pirating tv shows? It seems Brazil takes the top slot with 28.4 million downloads with Russia coming in at 28.1 million and India with 16 million rounding out the top three. For those wondering, China just barely edged out the US with 14.9 million downloads compared to ‘Murica’s 14.4 million. These figures point to the fact that the Pirate Bay takedown was in fact a hollow gesture. What is also interesting to note that locking content based on region really appears to hurt the studios more than it helps them. I don’t know about you, but I think it would be safe to say that the majority of content consumers would happily pay a reasonable price for easily accessible content instead of having to resort to piracy. Do you think the studios and content creators are effectively handling the piracy problem? If not, how do you think they should address it?