HBO Getting Serious About Game Of Thrones Piracy

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Remember a few years ago when one of the directors of Game of Thrones said he didn't mind when people pirated the show? I guess all of that has changed. HBO is now sending out copyright notices warning pirates of potential consequences for downloading or sharing the show.

“We have information leading us to believe that the IP address [address] was used to download or share Game of Thrones without authorization (additional details are listed below),” the notice states. “HBO owns the copyright or exclusive rights to Game of Thrones, and the unauthorized download or distribution constitutes copyright infringement.”
 
What's funny is that there is no legal way to watch GoT in Canada without having a 100+ dollar a month cable package with Bell (who owns HBO Canada).

I even pay $10 a month to subscribe to Bell's online streaming service, but they surreptitiously left out Game of Thrones, despite all other shows being included with the service.

There is literally no way for me to watch this show without pirating it or signing a $2400 two year contract with the most detestable TV provider in Canada.

Let me finish up by saying that I would be MORE than happy to pay $15 a month for the entire HBO catalog.
 
What's funny is that there is no legal way to watch GoT in Canada without having a 100+ dollar a month cable package with Bell (who owns HBO Canada).

I even pay $10 a month to subscribe to Bell's online streaming service, but they surreptitiously left out Game of Thrones, despite all other shows being included with the service.

There is literally no way for me to watch this show without pirating it or signing a $2400 two year contract with the most detestable TV provider in Canada.

Let me finish up by saying that I would be MORE than happy to pay $15 a month for the entire HBO catalog.
So don't watch the show. it is not uncommon to need some cable package before you can get hbo
 
What's funny is that there is no legal way to watch GoT in Canada without having a 100+ dollar a month cable package with Bell (who owns HBO Canada).

I even pay $10 a month to subscribe to Bell's online streaming service, but they surreptitiously left out Game of Thrones, despite all other shows being included with the service.

There is literally no way for me to watch this show without pirating it or signing a $2400 two year contract with the most detestable TV provider in Canada.

Let me finish up by saying that I would be MORE than happy to pay $15 a month for the entire HBO catalog.

So don't watch it? No one in America gets to Watch GoT on a basic cable package either. HBO is usually included in a package with a few other movie channels for a not cheap price.
 
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What's funny is that there is no legal way to watch GoT in Canada without having a 100+ dollar a month cable package with Bell (who owns HBO Canada).

I even pay $10 a month to subscribe to Bell's online streaming service, but they surreptitiously left out Game of Thrones, despite all other shows being included with the service.

There is literally no way for me to watch this show without pirating it or signing a $2400 two year contract with the most detestable TV provider in Canada.

Let me finish up by saying that I would be MORE than happy to pay $15 a month for the entire HBO catalog.
yup, so all I can say to HBO is catch me if you can eh. With some nice private trackers an a good VPN I have an episode 5 minutes after it airs.
 
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So don't watch the show. it is not uncommon to need some cable package before you can get hbo

I think NeoNemesis is saying that HBO is missing out on a lot of potential $$$.

I stopped watching GoT for similar reasons. I then tried to buy the previous season on Amazon, but gave up on that because there are so many spoilers on the internets.

I watch Walking Dead the night after they air on Amazon. It's pretty nice.
 
You can always... read the books.

With a little searching you can find the real paper books used for $1 or less at your local church/community sales.
 
It costs me over $200/mo after taxes, to get the lowest cable/internet bundle that has HBO.
I'm currently at about $110/mo with internet only + HBO Now.

Unfortunately, HBO Now is so laggy, I still end up watching GoT via alternate methods.
 
Also in Canada here...

Either make the show easily and affordably available (Like Netflix and Steam as prime examples), or I will pirate the shit out of it until that happens.
 
I think NeoNemesis is saying that HBO is missing out on a lot of potential $$$.

Agree with you, that's how I read it.

Seriously, he said he wants to watch it, and would gladly pay for a service but he can't without having massive fees shoved down his throat. Why's that mean he has to pass on the show?
Settle the fuck down bros.
 
So hbo would rather bust pirates than make money, seems logical.

I'm not sure how these are related. Cracking down on piracy and making money are mutually exclusive. Before they offered HBO Now many people had no option for watching the show legally without spending stupid amounts of money on a lot of cable channels they didn't want. Now that there is a legal option they're showing they would rather people take it than pirate their stuff. And that does seem logical.

I realize that some people feel like they're entitled to watch everything they want to at little to no cost but not seeing the latest GoT isn't going to kill you.
 
Never even seen the show. I'm sure it's good and all, but I seem to be surviving.
 
Agree with you, that's how I read it.

Seriously, he said he wants to watch it, and would gladly pay for a service but he can't without having massive fees shoved down his throat. Why's that mean he has to pass on the show?
Settle the fuck down bros.

There is the $15 a month HBO Now option. That doesn't require a cable subscription, what am I missing?

Still at the end of the day it doesn't matter how much you "want' an item. If its not available in your area, it's not available. In America, We'll see the same thing in a few months when all the people start crossing state lines to buy fireworks that are banned in their state and then read complaints about how the police are wrong for setting up checkpoints catching those people.
 
There is literally no way for me to watch this show without pirating it or signing a $2400 two year contract with the most detestable TV provider in Canada.
No, there's no way to stay current with the show. It's quite possible to wait for the season to be released the following spring. Good luck staying unspoiled though.
 
In Denmark there is a 180% tax on cars.... yeah take that in onehundredeandeighty percent... IfICouldMakeAnGoatseeAsciiIWouldPutItHere...
You buy 1 for you and almost 2 for the government

With the same logic that some people apply to piracy i should be OK with just stealing cars because I couldn't afford it and some 3rd party gets a lot of money instead of the car sales guy.
it sad. Its annoying indeed. But that's how capitalism work. you pay for an service or product or you don't if you don't like the cost.
You are not entittled to somebody else work for free, just because you don't feel like paying for it.
 
If its not available in your area, it's not available.

It is available, though. He can pirate it all he wants. He's not lamenting that he can't watch the show, he's lamenting that there's no reasonable method for him to pay for watching the show. He'll still be watching it, but HBO won't be getting his money.

And yeah, HBO Now is not available in Canada.

With the same logic that some people apply to piracy i should be OK with just stealing cars because I couldn't afford it and some 3rd party gets a lot of money instead of the car sales guy.

"You wouldn't download a car..."
 
There is the $15 a month HBO Now option. That doesn't require a cable subscription, what am I missing?

Still at the end of the day it doesn't matter how much you "want' an item. If its not available in your area, it's not available. In America, We'll see the same thing in a few months when all the people start crossing state lines to buy fireworks that are banned in their state and then read complaints about how the police are wrong for setting up checkpoints catching those people.

He just said the service he PAYS for includes everything and omits GoT. Fucking read.
So he should pay an additional fee for HBO, whilst everything else is included with a Bell streaming subscription? That's ridiculous.
 
yup, so all I can say to HBO is catch me if you can eh. With some nice private trackers an a good VPN I have an episode 5 minutes after it airs.
VPN, the new anti-antipiracy.

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In Denmark there is a 180% tax on cars.... yeah take that in onehundredeandeighty percent... IfICouldMakeAnGoatseeAsciiIWouldPutItHere...
You buy 1 for you and almost 2 for the government

With the same logic that some people apply to piracy i should be OK with just stealing cars because I couldn't afford it and some 3rd party gets a lot of money instead of the car sales guy.
it sad. Its annoying indeed. But that's how capitalism work. you pay for an service or product or you don't if you don't like the cost.
You are not entittled to somebody else work for free, just because you don't feel like paying for it.

That's a false equivalency. To skirt around the 180% tax on cars you'd have to secretly import a car from a foreign country. Because the tax is the intangible entity being avoided in your analogy, not the car. Stealing a car also deprives the owner of the car a car, or his/her insurance company the value of the car. Intellectual property isn't a tangible item to be stolen.

I don't agree with the logic that if media isn't available for a price you like you can just infringe on copyright, but your analogy doesn't work.
 
He just said the service he PAYS for includes everything and omits GoT. Fucking read.
So he should pay an additional fee for HBO, whilst everything else is included with a Bell streaming subscription? That's ridiculous.

I did read and it doesn't change much. He's paying for a service and he doesn't get what he wants, so why is he paying for the service? If HBO Now is not an option for Canadians, that's a bummer of a deal and he has my sympathy on GoT being excluded. That doesn't make him right to just go and pirate it. He can always wait and buy the DVDs if it's that important to him.

But I get it, we live in a world where everyone is entitled to anything they want, when they want it and because technology does all the work for them, they can just skirt around anything that holds them back.
 
Instead of coming out guns blazing. They should ask why people pirate tv shows. I bet price wouldn't even be in the top 5 reasons.

I pirate everything I watch regardless of having a cable subscription that I could use to watch most shows I download. That's what they should be thinking about.
 
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This is what I heard...wah wah wah, I want what I want and I want it now...for free or cheap.

Seriously people, get a grip. There is no real validity to pirating. You are stealing something, whether or not you believe it be an 'intangible asset', it is still stealing. I swear people today have completely lost their marbles.
 
This is what I heard...wah wah wah, I want what I want and I want it now...for free or cheap.

Seriously people, get a grip. There is no real validity to pirating. You are stealing something, whether or not you believe it be an 'intangible asset', it is still stealing. I swear people today have completely lost their marbles.

Seriously get it into your head already piracy is not stelaing. I swear people today have completely lost their marbles. It's called piracy for a reason. It's not theft. But the MPAA propaganda bullshit equating it to theft seems to be working well. If piracy is stealing, then photographing an exhibit in a museum is stealing too.
 
Seems odd that you can't subscribe to HBO Now from a PC like you can with Netflix and other streaming services. Why does one need to go through iTunes or Google Play to join? Why no Windows 10 app?
 
No by definition it isn't stealing, it is copyright infringement, it has been defined ad nauseum by this point. Also, read the thread, you obviously didn't read it no matter what you claim.
 
I'm glad HBONow is available to me, I hope it gets expanded to Canada as well. I did pirate the first season of GoT, I'm sorry, but my cable bill for the three channels I was watching before I cut the cord was in no way justifiable. However, I've bought every season on Bluray when it became available, so I feel like I've given HBO their money and now I can watch it via HBONow, so everyone is happy.
 
I did read and it doesn't change much. He's paying for a service and he doesn't get what he wants, so why is he paying for the service? If HBO Now is not an option for Canadians, that's a bummer of a deal and he has my sympathy on GoT being excluded. That doesn't make him right to just go and pirate it. He can always wait and buy the DVDs if it's that important to him.

But I get it, we live in a world where everyone is entitled to anything they want, when they want it and because technology does all the work for them, they can just skirt around anything that holds them back.
Apparently Canada has some of the highest piracy rates in the developed world. Part of the reason for this is the licensing deals that big media companies like Bell cut with content providers like HBO.

Nobody is "entitled" to watch a show, but at the same time you have to realize when you use monopoly power to bully people into "your way or the highway" some will choose to drive off-road, so to speak, rather than going nowhere.
 
I live in Canda as well... and all I can say is after 5 seasons of gouging or pirating. I will pirate your show until it goes off the air and I will never pay you for it even if you offer it to me for a $1. Where I am as a Canadian its not as simple as adding HBO for 20-30 bucks a month... it really does mean going from a $50 cable package to a $120 cable package... ain't going to happen you gready sobs. Frankly annoyed me enough to enjoy pirating HBO.... makes me want to download HBO shows I don't care about just so I can share them.

I live in Canada our laws protect me, I don't even bother to hide my IP have fun paying the legal fees to try and get me. If you manage to get me you will be the first US company in Canadian history to do so I would be honoured.

I am half joking... of course if they gave us a reasonable option to pay them we would mostly take it. The day I can log into HBO Now and not see "this service is blocked due to your location" they may get my actual money.

Until that day they should be happy that GOT has been so popular, GOT alone has sold plenty of subs even in Canada where clearly they make a lot more money then they do off the same sub in the US. They went from 81 Million subs in 2010 to 138 million subs in 2014 in a time when overall cable subs are DOWN. I am having a hard time feeling sorry for them, GOT is considered by many to be their best show, and perhaps the best show on "tv", it is the most pirated... I don't think its unfair to say 43-45 million of those subs come on the back of that one show. Not even counting all the disc sales which I have no doubt are high they are making easily netting 600-700 million a year on that one show alone. That is assuming that they wouldn't have lost subs had they not had GOT and a small handful of other praised shows the last few years to help them fight off the effect of cable cutters. I believe I have low balled my numbers the real GOT effect on their bottom line is likely much higher. The GOT catalog will also likely sell them HBO Now subs for many years to come as well... as much as I joke about pirating them till my grave, give me access to HBO Now for $15 like my friends 20 min south of me in the US and they can count my funds as well.
 
This is what I heard...wah wah wah, I want what I want and I want it now...for free or cheap.

Seriously people, get a grip. There is no real validity to pirating. You are stealing something, whether or not you believe it be an 'intangible asset', it is still stealing. I swear people today have completely lost their marbles.

No one said free or cheap... we want it for the same price you pay. Not a 2 or 3x premium because where 20min to 2 hrs north of you. :)
 
No one said free or cheap... we want it for the same price you pay. Not a 2 or 3x premium because where 20min to 2 hrs north of you. :)

Did I say I got it for a cheap price? Or did I say I agreed with the pricing scheme where he is at? No, I talked specifically about breaking the law because someone wanted to watch a specific show, specifically now instead of simply paying more or waiting.
 
You can always... read the books.

With a little searching you can find the real paper books used for $1 or less at your local church/community sales.
The latest season does not have a book yet. I wish it did - I'd read it.
 
Seriously get it into your head already piracy is not stelaing. I swear people today have completely lost their marbles. It's called piracy for a reason. It's not theft. But the MPAA propaganda bullshit equating it to theft seems to be working well. If piracy is stealing, then photographing an exhibit in a museum is stealing too.

Seriously, get it into your head, piracy IS illegal. Arguing between stealing and copyright infringement is semantics, they both are illegal. Photographing an exhibit is a false correlation, the two are not remotely equal. Also, in a number of museums, photography is strictly forbidden, so that is a double whammy on your argument.
 
I am a cord cutter. I have HBO Now to legally watch GoT this season. In the past, I found alternate ways...
Besides GoT, I haven't found HBO Now very appealing. We will be cancelling it after watching the final GoT.
 
No, it isn't stealing, there is a reason it is called different, it is defined entirely different by law and the punishment is different, no matter how you feel about it.

Piracy, is in fact not stealing.

Piracy = Not Stealing = this image.
gRk1uZm.gif
 
No, it isn't stealing, there is a reason it is called different, it is defined entirely different by law and the punishment is different, no matter how you feel about it.

Piracy, is in fact not stealing.

Piracy = Not Stealing = this image.
gRk1uZm.gif

You are arguing semantics. Is or is it not illegal?
 
It doesn't matter, it is still not stealing. What you feel, what you think it doesn't matter, the other person never said anything pro or against the legal aspect, he said something factually right.

Piracy is NOT stealing.
 
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