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Nearly Half of Game of Thrones Season 5 Leaks Online
HughPickens.com writes Paul Tassi reports at Forbes that the first four episodes of the new season of "Game of Thrones", nearly half of the ten total episodes, have been leaked online to various torrent sites. The four episodes appeared to come from a screener sent to reviewers with the digital watermark blurred out and are in 480p video format, equivalent to standard-definition TV, not HD.The episodes have already been downloaded almost 800,000 times, and that figure was expected to blow past a million downloads by the season 5 premiere. Game of Thrones has consistently set records for piracy, which has almost been a point of pride for HBO. "Our experience is [piracy] leads to more penetration, more paying subs, more health for HBO, less reliance on having to do paid advertising If you go around the world, I think you're right, Game of Thrones is the most pirated show in the world. Well, you know, that's better than an Emmy."
How the leak happened isn't a mystery. Television critics typically receive the first four episodes of an HBO show before its season premiere, and "Game of Thrones" is no exception. HBO could not immediately say whether the leak could be traced to screener copies of the show. "I suspect HBO may be a bit more restrictive about handing out Game of Thrones screeners to press, given the event-like nature of the show and its reliance on keeping spoilers close to the chest," writes Tassi. "I really don't see why commentary like that needs to exist in the first place." The network can take solace in at least one thing, though. Episode four ends on a heck of a cliffhanger, and those who pirated the episodes will be in the same boat as those of us who received them legally — waiting until May to find out what happens next. "I would imagine it's more fun to just spend the next month watching week to week as nature intended, even if you are watching illegally," concludes Tassi. "Game of Thrones is one of the last true "event" shows where it's something you want to talk about Sunday night or Monday morning with friends and strangers alike."
How the leak happened isn't a mystery. Television critics typically receive the first four episodes of an HBO show before its season premiere, and "Game of Thrones" is no exception. HBO could not immediately say whether the leak could be traced to screener copies of the show. "I suspect HBO may be a bit more restrictive about handing out Game of Thrones screeners to press, given the event-like nature of the show and its reliance on keeping spoilers close to the chest," writes Tassi. "I really don't see why commentary like that needs to exist in the first place." The network can take solace in at least one thing, though. Episode four ends on a heck of a cliffhanger, and those who pirated the episodes will be in the same boat as those of us who received them legally — waiting until May to find out what happens next. "I would imagine it's more fun to just spend the next month watching week to week as nature intended, even if you are watching illegally," concludes Tassi. "Game of Thrones is one of the last true "event" shows where it's something you want to talk about Sunday night or Monday morning with friends and strangers alike."
All you have to do is read anything about the books.
Still a better story than your b.s. comment.
Still a better story than your b.s. comment.
No, reading his comment was over quicker than watching game of thrones
Our experience is [piracy] leads to more penetration, more paying subs, more health for HBO, less reliance on having to do paid advertising If you go around the world, I think you're right, Game of Thrones is the most pirated show in the world. Well, you know, that's better than an Emmy.
That right there is why I happily pay a premium for a technically poor streaming service (HBO Nordic ). Even though it's much easier for me to download episodes than to use the service, I still think that HBO has met me half way in providing their content in a reasonable, fair manner. Time to put our money where our mouths are.
Is that a joke? The series followed the book (thankfully) close enough that anyone can know what's coming by RTFB.
Oliver.
Judging by the hype and how popular it is with the general populace, it seems my decision is the correct one.
Is that not the definition of being a hipster?
Do you abstain from oxygen and water too? You can't be a real iconoclast while you use those. (I'll bet you're a poser who reads books, and not scrolls like the real cool kids.)
I don't think nature intended us to be sitting on our asses to watch stories happen on animated flat canvases.
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Yes indeed, thank you to the OP, for letting me know this, so I can go and get them and tease people about them. I pay a TV license, I pay for Sky, so I've no problem about timeshifting this series. I've already paid my money.
- This sig deliberately left blank. Nothing to see, move along.
AAAAHHH!!!111
Oh, Hugh Pickens. 'Nuf said. As if being the #1 pirated show doesn't bring it enough publicity, they have to advertise it here.
I pride myself in the fact that I have never watched even a single episode of the show. Judging by the hype and how popular it is with the general populace, it seems my decision is the correct one.
Silly me, I tend to base my viewing decisions on whether a particular show is good or not, whether the "right" people share my particular taste is irrelevant.
By taking pride in not seeing a single episode you're not celebrating refined taste, you're celebrating ignorance.
I stole this Sig
Personally, I was a hater of HBO for the last few years due to their open hostility to Netflix, their taking of sides AGAINST Net Neutrality and their tying of their streaming service to Comcast et al -- but I've come to forgive them a bit because of their work with Amazon in bringing their back catalog of originals for internet streaming free to Amazon Prime users and their launch of HBO Now, which I have signed up for.
So it pains me a bit to see HBO change tact and offer a compelling streaming service only to suffer a massive leak by a trusted party so soon after it's debut. While I'm sure HBO will take it in stride, I've long said that if these bad actors like HBO could offer legal channels to get their content without a wait, I would sign-up and not pirate. But, with this action and the amount of seeders and leachers, it seems the use case claimed by many -- that they only pirate due to not having a clear legal means to watch without having to wait several months for the DVD release -- is the exception and not the rule.
that four, is nearly half of ten. In the same way we clarify to the average American that some things are the size of cars, football-fields, or elephants.
Use my userscript to add story images to Slashdot. There's no going back.
I still think that HBO has met me half way in providing their content in a reasonable, fair manner.
I've bought legal copies of the previous seasons on Blu-Ray, lacking better options for seeing them. HBO's insistence on not releasing each season on disc until just before the next one (with the inevitable resulting spoilers in between) really annoys me.
When I've paid full price -- and it's an expensive price for a show with only 10 episodes per season -- for something that from my point of view was only just released, I don't appreciate seeing trailers and promos for the new season that show the person in supposedly mortal jeopardy at the end of the episode I just watched is going to make it/not make it/turn into an angel and fly away. This has been happening even in between old shows I'm rewatching on second-rate freeview TV channels for more than a month (advertising the new GoT season coming up on an expensive premium channel not conveniently available where I am). They even had two principal characters on the front cover of TV magazines at the store last week.
I'm generally anti-piracy, but this is a show that depends on the big plot twists and no-one-is-safe surprises, and I'm far more likely to give up and just rip it on-line as so many others do because of the spoilers than for any other reason. Or just give up watching at all, because why bother when the story has already been ruined anyway?
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
"...Game of Thrones has consistently set records for piracy, which has almost been a point of pride for HBO. "Our experience is [piracy] leads to more penetration, more paying subs, more health for HBO, less reliance on having to do paid advertising If you go around the world, I think you're right, Game of Thrones is the most pirated show in the world. Well, you know, that's better than an Emmy."
Hey assholes, either condone piracy, or embrace it. One or the other.
You can't sit here and champion the benefits piracy clearly brings to your business while wanting to attack those same pirates with your infringement legal team.
SO in other words, you have no idea if the show is any good or not, but you'll pull the whole superiority thing (aka I don;t even own a tv). Sorry but puffing out your chest doesn't make you any less ignorant.
Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
The comment that scares me the most from the summary is "watching illegaly"
Why do it half-assed?
That enemy you'be been fighting? You know. 'Piracy' and illegal content distrubution? Yea. That. It seems you're employing that. Good job funding your own enemy and wasting money in the process!!!
Sorry, but HBO is part of Hollywood. And I've been enjoying it since the 80's! Thanks!
What HBO could have done is place identifiable watermarks on frames which will change location and the mark itself based on the content time mark. Couple of frames per minute should do it without it being visible to the regular viewers.
Wasn't this the first fictional program to premier worldwide simultaneously? I think it is kind of a shame that this globally shared event has been spoiled. When Armstrong first put his foot on the lunar surface it was watched across the world. Recently people write and complain if a shuttle launch interrupted their TV schedule. We are a miserable species - can't even hold back and wait for a fictional show about flying reptiles and chilly landscapes.
Some leaks just go too far.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g11IxTJlhIQ
War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.
I'm glad so many people enjoy it, and it speaks to the quality of original television HBO has managed to create in recent years. (Great way to re-imagine themselves as they realized their classic business model wasn't going to sustain them into the future. Too much competition with the business model of offering a selection of "seen before" movies to view for a fixed monthly rate.)
But for whatever reason (and frankly, I can't explain it!), I just can't really get into television or movies that take place in these time-frames? I could barely get through any of those medieval times movies with knights on horses jousting and dragons and castle sieges. (That's despite one of my best friends constantly watching that stuff and trying to get me into it, years ago.) Anything about ancient Rome or even non-existent fantasy worlds with similar levels of technology (a la Lord of the Rings)? Same thing .... Just not feeling it.
And I feel kind of guilty about it, because by contrast, I love good science fiction. Anyone else out there relate to this? I feel like the only guy on the planet who loved Star Wars, Star Trek, the remake of BSG, etc. etc. -- yet who couldn't ever bring himself to bother watching The Hobbit or the LOTR trilogy!
I pride myself in the fact that I have never watched even a single episode of the show.
I can understand things like "I pride myself in the fact that I have not watched more than one episode of the show" or "more than half an episode of the show", but you are basically telling us that you are an idiot. Judging things as bad by how popular they are is not in any way better than judging things as good by how popular they are. /. beta.
Are you at least consistent? I mean maybe the "idiot" comment was harsh, I could perhaps call you a person of "strange principles", if you have also never watched things like LOTR, Avengers, Toy Story and you actually liked
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Polar Scope Align for iOS
I pride myself in the fact that I have never watched even a single episode of the show. Judging by the hype and how popular it is with the general populace, it seems my decision is the correct one.
That would make equal sense if you changed "watched even a single episode of the show" to "had sex".
"We are at war with Eurasia. We have always been at war with Eurasia."
If only that book wasn't so popular, I could read it...but alas.
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
Spoiler alert: Bambi was from house Stark!
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
Dear HBO,
I'll still pay you. I paid for seasons 1-4. I'll pay for 5 on google play. I just couldn't wait, and I don't want your stupid service, since the ONLY thing you have that I want is GoT.
Me, and pretty much everyone.
When you're used to watching in 1080i (with Deinterlace on auto using yadif x2), the 480p version looks like absolute junk.
Not only that, it looks to me like the quality has been intentionally gimped. It's an eyesore.
Is that not the definition of being a hipster?
He probably vapes clove flavored juice too!
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
They should perhaps consider selling to a real network that people actually watch or licensing to a streaming service so they can actually make some money off the show. HBO is a giant black hole of not making anything on your show.
bla bla "leaked" bla bla "leads to more penetration"
next time "leak" the entire season
Hmmm...this sounds like an intentional leak by HBO to me.
1) Story is out the day the season debuts
2 ) "Equivalent to standard-definition TV, not HD"
3) "Episode four ends on a heck of a cliffhanger"
4) HBO confirms leak but can't find the leaker
Anyway, meh. I'll still download the HD version of episode 1 tomorrow from some pirate site like 50% of the rest of GoT viewership - "standard TV" doesn't do it for me anymore.
I still don't understand why people want to watch such a crap quality (480p and blurred watermark)..
They just launched HBO Now, so your complaint is moot.
How can a deer be part of a wolves clan? Shouldn't it be a Baratheon?
Open Source Network Inventory for the masses! Kuwaiba
I smell an MPAA honeydick.
They just launched HBO Now, so your complaint is moot.
I know, but as I'm in the UK, my complaint remains perfectly valid.
Here your legal options are basically limited to either getting Sky or relying on one of the very limited number of on-line options. All of these require dedicated equipment and/or work out absurdly expensive if GoT is the only exclusive show on the service that you're interested in watching. As I understand it, you're also still likely to get interrupted by ad breaks and logos/banners spammed all over the screen -- an insultingly inferior experience to just playing a disc and enjoying the show, and you're paying a premium for the "privilege".
Personally, all I'd need to avoid the disappointment is a simple and reasonably priced pay-per-view option to watch in sync with everyone else. With no real effort at all they could at least release the box set of discs as soon as the season has finished like every other show ever. In practice that would probably still avoid the worst of the spoilers, because usually people are pretty good about not assuming everyone saw this show live. The biggest spoilers I had for season 4, which I just finished watching, were all the trailers and promos for season 5, which obviously only start happening nearly a year after season 4 finished its first run.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
When I've paid full price -- and it's an expensive price for a show with only 10 episodes per season -- for something that from my point of view was only just released.
It's an expensive show.
If they have an Apple device that they can use to watch it. I've been debating whether it is worth it. If I want to watch it on my TV, I'd have to shell out for an HDMI adapter or an Apple TV. Given that there is just a $20 difference, I may end get the latter.
the good ground has been paved over by suicidal maniacs
He didn't say he read the books, so he only went at most half hipster.
For full hipster credit, he would had to 1. say he read the books before the show came out, 2. say that they were ruined by the TV show and 3. found a way to say the books were much better than the TV show he's supposedly never seen WITHOUT saying "because it's popular."
>"Game of Thrones is one of the last true "event" shows where it's something you want to talk about Sunday night or Monday morning with friends and strangers alike."
Could this be done around some kind of water cooler?
So what you're saying is that there *are* legal ways for you to get the show earlier and avoid being spoiled?
U.S.-based shows rarely release their box sets right after the season ends. They generally wait until the next season is almost on so they can advertise the new season on the box.
480p crappy resolution.
I can wait.
Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
You pride your self in you ignorance. You admit to never having watched it, and you say that because it's popular that you choice was correct. Did it not occur to you that maybe it's popular be cause it is good?
I get it your young, especially going by your id# but hey, your beer is too hoppy, your pants are too tight, and no one cares to hear you say you don't watch the show we are taking about. If you don't watch it why are you commenting on a story about it? it's very trollish of you.
Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
When "I am Legend" came out, I spoiled it for all my friends by telling them how it ended. That showed them.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
So what you're saying is that there *are* legal ways for you to get the show earlier and avoid being spoiled?
Reportedly, but as far as I know I don't have any way to use any of them without spending many times the cost of the box set just on one kind of equipment or another and then another significant multiple of the box set cost on the subscription/streaming/whatever for the show itself. So as long as I don't mind a 1000-2000% mark-up, sure, I can probably avoid being spoiled (unless you count the other inferior aspects I mentioned as spoiling the show in another sense, of course).
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
I know, but charging me X for the box set just after it finished wouldn't cost them anything compared to charging me X nearly a year later. In fact, it would benefit them a little in terms of cash flow and probably very slightly due to inflation. And obviously it would benefit them compared to me being fed up with the spoilers and consequently not bothering to buy the next season on disc at all. I enjoy the show, but I enjoy plenty of other shows too, and I could just as easily spend similar money on 20+ episodes of one of them instead of 10 episodes of GoT next time I'm on Amazon.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
If they have an Apple device that they can use to watch it.
Nope.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
Unless you don't drink Apple Coolaid or use some obscure ISP HBO decided to support. Outside of those use cases you are still hosed.
This just means there wasn't enough hype about Game of Thrones at the moment. Same reason why rappers leak albums :)
Usually, I love leaks. But I hate whoever leaked this.
The temptation to just watch them all in a one-sitting GoT orgy is going to be seriously difficult to resist for the next 4 weeks.
But if I do that, I'll have to wait a month for more GoT. Waiting 7 days for each new episode is bad enough. Now I've got that wait plus the temptation to just watch the next one. Either way, the next 4 weeks are going to be torture.
Bastard.
Our experience is [piracy] leads to more penetration, more paying subs, more health for HBO, less reliance on having to do paid advertising.
borrowing a copy from a friend is not illegal.
That's up there with the most obnoxiously ignorant comment I've read this morning, and I've been messing about on YouTube since 4am.
A copy of what, exactly? No-one has a physical copy at that stage, so there's nothing to borrow.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
Well, the HBO Now intro page does state that it's only available in the US and some US territories. So, yes, fans in other countries are still out of luck until all the licensing stuff is worked out.
the good ground has been paved over by suicidal maniacs
As long as HBO and other studios continue the brain dead policy to release movies at different times across the globe, the pirating will continue. In times of ubiquotous and mostly free access to world wide distribution channels, aka the internet, it remains a mistery why some people still believe they can control access by geographical regions. Mind you, the policies make sense if you think you have a handle on access and that access is worth $$. But if you don't it just means you are better off to offer payed access from day 1, globally. The wast majority of today's freeloaders would happily pay if the opportunity were given to them.
"Our experience is [piracy] leads to more penetration, more paying subs, more health for HBO, less reliance on having to do paid advertising If you go around the world, I think you're right, Game of Thrones is the most pirated show in the world. Well, you know, that's better than an Emmy."
If that view was more widespread, we wouldn't have to deal with DRM that only interferes with paying users.
you play or you die.
...
Thanks, have a nice day ;)
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