Game of Thrones Is Most Pirated TV Show of 2015

LOS ANGELES: For the fourth year in a row, Game of Thrones has come in as the most illegally downloaded TV show, according to TorrentFreak.

With an estimated 14.4 million downloads via BitTorrent, the 2015 season finale beat out other pirated content by a landslide. This is compared to an estimated 8.1 million U.S. TV viewers.

Second on the list for 2015 is The Walking Dead with 6.9 million downloads via BitTorrent, compared to its 15.8 million legal TV viewers. The number three spot is held by The Big Bang Theory, followed by Arrow, The Flash, Mr. Robot and Vikings. Rounding out the top 10 are Supergirl, The Blacklist and Suits.

“Overall there is no sign that TV-show piracy is declining, on the contrary,” TorrentFreak stated. “The download numbers for the most popular shows continues to rise, sometimes exceeding the number of traditional viewers in the U.S.”

TorrentFreak noted that total piracy numbers are actually significantly higher, though, as online streaming and downloads for file-hosting services are not included in the above figures since there are no public sources to draw data from.