‘Game of Thrones’ sets another piracy record

Image Credit: HBO

Game of Thrones was the must-watch show of the season — and it has the illegal-download numbers to prove it.

According to TorrentFreak, the HBO fantasy series’ third season is the most-pirated show of spring 2013, with 5.2 million downloads. The Big Bang Theory lands at No. 2 with 2.9 million, followed by How I Met Your Mother (2.85 million), The Walking Dead (2.7 million) and rookie series Hannibal (2.1 million).

This is just the latest piracy record set by GoT, which was named the most illegally downloaded TV series of 2012. When EW spoke with HBO programming president Michael Lombardo in March, he saw the dubious record as somewhat of an honor.

“I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but it is a compliment of sorts,” he said. “The demand is there. And it certainly didn’t negatively impact the DVD sales. [Piracy is] something that comes along with having a wildly successful show on a subscription network.”

Game of Thrones returns for season 4 in spring 2014.

Read more:
HBO: ‘Game of Thrones’ piracy is a compliment
Most pirated TV shows 2012: ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Dexter’ tops
‘Game of Thrones’ author George R.R. Martin: Why he wrote The Red Wedding — EXCLUSIVE