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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHBO admits piracy is a ‘compliment’ that doesn’t hurt sales
While some companies are looking to end piracy across the entertainment industry, one major player doesnt think its quite the crisis its often made out to be. HBOs hit show Games of Thrones is the most-pirated TV show on the Internet with more than 4 million illegal downloads per episode, however the companys programming president Michael Lombardo believes piracy is a compliment to the show and has actually helped sales. In February, Game of Thrones season two was released to record-setting DVD sales, becoming the companys biggest first-day home video release with sales of 241,000 units, an increase of 44% over season one, and sales of individual episodes reached 355,000, up 112% from season one.
I probably shouldnt be saying this, but it is a compliment of sorts, Lombardo said to Entertainment Weekly. The demand is there. And it certainly didnt negatively impact the DVD sales. [Piracy is] something that comes along with having a wildly successful show on a subscription network.
Despite being the most pirated show on television, Games of Thrones is also the networks top money-maker.
If you look at aggregate of international and DVD sales which are the two revenue streams we look at since were not selling it domestically on another platform yes, absolutely, in terms of shows we have on now, Lombardo said.
http://news.yahoo.com/hbo-admits-piracy-compliment-doesn-t-hurt-sales-035946132.html
BainsBane
(53,001 posts)Pointers anyone? Feel free to PM me if you prefer.
harmonicon
(12,008 posts)... or, if you prefer streaming, maybe google "game of thrones" and "streaming."
Oh, that first website you're going to need is http://www.google.com It's great at answering these sort of questions.
Kolesar
(31,182 posts)I saw a large number of them on this search, but don't know which one I "should" visit.
https://www.google.com/search?q=%22game+of+thrones%22+and+%22download%2C%22&aq=f&oq=%22game+of+thrones%22+and+%22download%2C%22&aqs=chrome.0.57&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
cbdo2007
(9,213 posts)but download a bittorrent client like uTorrent and then go to a site like thepiratebay.com and type in "game of thrones eztv" and then download it. eztv shows are safe and not viruses, at least that's what my friend told me.
Kolesar
(31,182 posts)If I remember I have the bookmark.
I feel like playing in the dirt now.
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)and hit magnet link under the show page.
Your friend told me that.
Logical
(22,457 posts)cbdo2007
(9,213 posts)Thanks for your input! I'm sure you're a 100% law abiding citizen.....or at least the things you do, I'm sure you find your own ways to justify to yourself why they're right in your situation. Good luck with that!
Response to cbdo2007 (Reply #34)
Post removed
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)from what I have read, of course......
tridim
(45,358 posts)Last edited Tue Apr 2, 2013, 10:43 AM - Edit history (1)
Phillip McCleod
(1,837 posts)..infections abound and those files are BIG. plus while both are illegal, only downloading leaves a copy of the movie on your drive.
steaming is better but then you have ads and popup ads and redirects. so here's what ya do..
install 'adblock plus' add-on (for firefox OR chrome.. no internet explorer) to first put the kibosh on ads or you'll just get frustrated when you click on the following link
http://www.free-tv-video-online.me/internet/game_of_thrones/
do those two things (adblock and that european website) and all your terrible illegal prayers will be answered.
BainsBane
(53,001 posts)Phillip McCleod
(1,837 posts)this conversation never occurred.
oops. is this a *public* forum?
BainsBane
(53,001 posts)why should anyone else? We're flattering them.
Phillip McCleod
(1,837 posts)i flatter them all the time. i flattered them sunday night within minutes of s3e1 airing.
i'm feeling fairly complimentary toward AMC these days as well.
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)I won't feel bad when I download The Newsroom.
Comrade_McKenzie
(2,526 posts)It was an HBO show.
frylock
(34,825 posts)missed the episode the previous evening and I don't do DVR.
displacedtexan
(15,694 posts)I had no idea what to do with a Pirate Bay torrent after clicking Download, but Comcast assumed I was some kind of evil download thief. I didn't know it was illegal because in 2002 Michael Moore had sent me (and several thousand other people) a link to download one of his films. I thought it was a link to watch the movie, but that didn't work. Anyway, Comcast threatened me because of one episode of a show I had already paid them to watch, and I didn't even have the first idea what to do with a torrent file.
Which brings us to 2013... If I knew anything at all about downloading today, I would get an invitation to join a private tracker in... let's say, England, and I would use UTorrent and some kind of TV player like Roku or WD Live Plus to play .avi files on my big screen.
Of course, I don't know anything about this stuff.
frylock
(34,825 posts)hooked up to a 3TB external drive. I don't know what to do with them either.
displacedtexan
(15,694 posts)I have a 1.5 T external drive and two 100 Gig drives for the stuff I know nothing about. And Oscar screener season would be one of my favorite times of the year. How about you?
Logical
(22,457 posts)frylock
(34,825 posts)Yavin4
(35,354 posts)mainer
(12,013 posts)That piracy helps spread their name, which is more valuable than lost royalties because it generates future sales.
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)I just can't afford a large bill for tons of things I will never watch. I usually end up buying the dvds too. But it is more fun to watch the shows when everyone is watching them and you can talk to friends about them.
Hayabusa
(2,135 posts)Most people can't really afford HBO just for the one show and want to see it as it airs before making a decision to buy the DVD set.
Logical
(22,457 posts)FreeState
(10,552 posts)We went from millions in sales into debt in a matter of two years, all because people started to pirate our content rather than buy it. Piracy kills jobs.
Logical
(22,457 posts)SecularMotion
(7,981 posts)displacedtexan
(15,694 posts)As I understand it, it costs about the same to download content as it does to buy it in a store.
But I suppose you know more than any of the rest of us.
Initech
(99,909 posts)graham4anything
(11,464 posts)gvstn
(2,805 posts)May believe piracy is a compliment but I don't think HBO corporate feels the same way.
When I used to frequent torrent sites, I would say that 80% of the "cease and desist" letters that people received were for violating HBO's copyright. You can't have that kind of reputation unless you are actively monitoring who is downloading/uploading your shows. They vigorously protected The Sopranos episodes and I suspect they still monitor what is going on regarding the downloading of their shows whether the head of programming cares or not.
Anything HBO, I would be looking for a direct download rather than torrent. Or wait six months and get it at the library.
brooklynite
(93,834 posts)It doesn't cost you anything more, and you'll appreciate the fact that I like your TV choice.
spanone
(135,627 posts)cbdo2007
(9,213 posts)They have the technology and the ability to make shows available in a fair and profitable manner to everyone and they refuse to do it because the cable companies have a monopoly and you have to subscribe to some type of cable service (still in 2013) to be able to get the premium channels, even if that's all you watch.
In the next 5-10 years the future of TV and Movies is the same as what's happened in the music industry. Imagine Netflix streaming with 100,000 more options all available at the push of a button for $25/month. All new shows from all networks, and full catalogs of just about any past show you can think of. Any movie you can think of, all available on demand, anytime.
Hell, even on network shows, which are available for free on the network website the day after the show airs, the technology is there to be able to watch them with no problem......but they just can't get it to work properly and whenever I try it on NBC.com or CBS.com or wherever it locks up half the time and doesn't work.
If you think it's a fair playing field in music, movies, and tv shows with the consumer vs the corporation, it isn't nearly as black and white as "downloading is stealing". Look at digital movies....you buy a movie on DVD and there are free programs available that will rip it to your computer so you can watch it on your portable device. You are doing what you want to do with something that you own. That wasn't good enough for the movie studios....so they copy protect the DVD and then SELL you the digital copy along with the DVD for an extra $5. Nobody is here accusing them of stealing.