AfterDawn: News

HBO: 'Game of Thrones' piracy does not hurt us at all

HBO programming president Michael Lombardo has made comments this weekend that other media companies would do well to listen to.

The executive claims that the massive amount of piracy for their hit show, Game of Thrones, does not hurt DVD/Blu-ray sales at all, and is actually a compliment.



It was recently revealed that each episode of the show sees over 4.3 million illegal downloads, making it the most-pirated TV show in the world, beating out perennial faves like 'Dexter.'

"I probably shouldn't be saying this, but it is a compliment of sorts," adds Lombardo (via Freak). "[Piracy is] something that comes along with having a wildly successful show on a subscription network." When asked if consumers are still going out to buy the discs, Lombardo replied, "The demand is there. And it certainly didn't negatively impact the DVD sales."

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 1 Apr 2013 8:58

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• 24 comments

• SuckRaven

  Quote:HBO: 'Game of Thrones' piracy does not hurt us at all If that's true, why does the RIAA/MPAA keep suing the crap out of everyone?

  1.4.2013 14:30 #1

• JGJD2001

  Originally posted by SuckRaven: Quote:HBO: 'Game of Thrones' piracy does not hurt us at all If that's true, why does the RIAA/MPAA keep suing the crap out of everyone? cos they need to make an excuse to pay their stupid salaries and still exist.
  
  guess the fat cats want to milk it as much as they can.
  
  I hope they get forced to shut

  1.4.2013 14:49 #2

• CNDLG

  Originally posted by SuckRaven: Quote:HBO: 'Game of Thrones' piracy does not hurt us at all If that's true, why does the RIAA/MPAA keep suing the crap out of everyone? Not all shows do as well as this one. AND if success isn't very good... well it can't be because the show sucks, it must be because of piracy! If I can't be successful it must be someone ripping me off, i'll just sue them.

  1.4.2013 18:39 #3

• ruff469

  Blu Ray as a permanent form of media Tops all other forms of media. You can Dl a 1080p MKV file and will have issues replaying on anything other that a pc with nice surround sound. Any form of conversion to media will leave the quality less than retail. A real true video junkie is going to buy the original even after watching bootleg or seeing on the subscribed network. Even watching HBO HD is not as good as Blu-ray. So having said that, if the show sux it's not worth the Blu-ray cost.
  

  1.4.2013 20:06 #4

• big_tekka

  Absolute BS PR spin. If this were true, HBO would not go out of its way in contacting ISPs who then send letters to their customer as well as pull down requests to Usenet providers sometimes in a matter of minutes.
  
  GTFO HBO, lol

  2.4.2013 13:05 #5

• Mrguss

  Originally posted by ruff469: Blu Ray as a permanent form of media Tops all other forms of media. You can Dl a 1080p MKV file and will have issues replaying on anything other that a pc with nice surround sound. Any form of conversion to media will leave the quality less than retail. A real true video junkie is going to buy the original even after watching bootleg or seeing on the subscribed network. Even watching HBO HD is not as good as Blu-ray. So having said that, if the show sux it's not worth the Blu-ray cost. Agree. Very few selected movies, songs, video games, TV series, etc. make credit to pay for it. (1%)
  

  +5000

  2.4.2013 14:10 #6

• xtago

  Originally posted by SuckRaven: Quote:HBO: 'Game of Thrones' piracy does not hurt us at all If that's true, why does the RIAA/MPAA keep suing the crap out of everyone? Because they expect to earn more profit (say 10% every year) without fail.
  
  When they don't make this profit then they are being ripped off, so sue everyone to force people into buying products to push up profits.

  3.4.2013 09:42 #7

• bogwart16

  What he says is true, even if Game of Thrones is relatively special. I have downloaded each series and then bought the DVD boxsets as soon as they have been issued - and, like many others, I do the same with other series and films. If I had to rely on instinct and guesswork without the ability to download first Hollywood would be without several hundred sales from me alone. So stuff that in your pipe, MPAA.
  

  We once had a empire and it was led by an emperor then we had a kingdom which was led by a king. Now we have a country.

  8.4.2013 08:22 #8

• raunchynm

  cant imagine why anyone would want to download the series. It totally sucks. Every episode it seems to bring on another dozen characters. Its worse than reading War and Peace for the first time.

  8.4.2013 08:44 #9

• bogwart16

  Originally posted by raunchynm: cant imagine why anyone would want to download the series. It totally sucks. Every episode it seems to bring on another dozen characters. Its worse than reading War and Peace for the first time. That's really a rather stupid comment. This is not the forum for criticism of content.
  

  We once had a empire and it was led by an emperor then we had a kingdom which was led by a king. Now we have a country.

  8.4.2013 08:51 #10

• raunchynm

  sorry but my comment seems very pertinent to the subject. Why all this talk about piracy about an issue that is not worth pirating? Don't be rude.

  8.4.2013 09:40 #11

• bogwart16

  Originally posted by raunchynm: sorry but my comment seems very pertinent to the subject. Why all this talk about piracy about an issue that is not worth pirating? Don't be rude. For starters, we're not discussing piracy per se; the topic is about copyright infringement and HBO's reaction to the issue of illegal downloads.Whatever the context, piracy is an exaggeration for such behaviour.
  
  Secondly, bear in mind that your disparaging comments about the show represent your opinion, for whatever that's worth - millions of people disagree with you and you are the one being rude by dismissing their opinions out of hand. If you really want to behave like this I suggest you go to IMDb where they are more used to trolls and agitators.
  
  If you can't discuss the topic without bias I suggest you desist. And in any case don't refer to those of us who do want to discuss it rude.
  

  We once had a empire and it was led by an emperor then we had a kingdom which was led by a king. Now we have a country.

  8.4.2013 09:53 #12

• FredBun

  bogwart16, very well put, you told it like it is.
  

  8.4.2013 10:11 #13

• eljay

  At first I thought this might be an April Fools joke, but I tracked the story to this interview from March 31st on EW.com.
  
  Not excatly what we are used to hearing from the media corporations :-)

  8.4.2013 12:23 #14

• Jemborg

  I absolutely love the show, for me it's TV crack... but I can see why Raunchynm doesn't care for it, it could be considered ponderous and turgid for some but nowhere near as bad as the recent Boringstar Galacial series.
  
  Anyway, one of the directors of the show said the same thing in Australia no too long ago so it's an opinion maybe held widely on the show I guess.
  
  If you want to now how popular your show is check the torrent listings I say. :D
  

  Its a lot easier being righteous than right.
  
  
  

  8.4.2013 12:35 #15

• wheelstb

  I understand that on some level piracy does take away a decent amount of sales from the owner of the original content. But also I think it's absurd to say that just because X number of people have download your product means that you have missed out on that particular amount of sales
  
  people often download something just because it is there. If they had to pay for it they wouldn't even give it a second look. I would imagine a subscription cable network like HBO is a prime example of this.
  
  People downloading the show may generate interest were otherwise there would be none.

  8.4.2013 19:47 #16

• sundance

  Originally posted by SuckRaven: Quote:HBO: 'Game of Thrones' piracy does not hurt us at all If that's true, why does the RIAA/MPAA keep suing the crap out of everyone? Control and greed. It wouldn't matter if they (most movie company) made $1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
  00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
  00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
  0000000.00 in DVD/B-RD sales if there was 1 pirated DVD the bastards would cry and file lawsuits.

  8.4.2013 19:53 #17

• Mez

  Many prefer to see it before they buy. Most house holds have an entertainment budget. They are not going to cut essentials just so they can buy DVDs and Blue Rays. Just as true they will not stop spending just because they have a pirated version.
  
  I agree with big_tekka the speech is just PR their motto is death to pirates!

  8.4.2013 20:02 #18

• ddg

  Downloading is sometimes the only way to view shows like Game of Thrones as the show is not available on commercial TV, can take long periods of time before being released to the overseas market and can take years before being released on DVD, particularly Region 4.
  
  It is only now that popular shows like Game of Thrones are being express shipped to countries like Australia to allow viewing close to release date. DVD's are still the preferred viewing method with downloading being used to view possible future purchases. Will still buy the DVD's to view and put on the shelf like a good book.
  
  Games of Thrones and other worthy shows will alway have excellent DVD having little to fear from piracy.

  8.4.2013 21:16 #19

• Jemborg

  Originally posted by ddg: It is only now that popular shows like Game of Thrones are being express shipped to countries like Australia to allow viewing close to release date. Ironically, only because of piracy lol.
  
  
  

  Its a lot easier being righteous than right.
  
  
  

  8.4.2013 21:43 #20

• adre02

  Originally posted by CNDLG: Originally posted by SuckRaven: Quote:HBO: 'Game of Thrones' piracy does not hurt us at all If that's true, why does the RIAA/MPAA keep suing the crap out of everyone? Not all shows do as well as this one. AND if success isn't very good... well it can't be because the show sucks, it must be because of piracy! If I can't be successful it must be someone ripping me off, i'll just sue them.
  Not too sure of the point here because if any show does suck then who in the hell would be downloading it to that massive amount?
  
  If a show sucks and the piracy is like 1000 downloads per 3 months then they probably wouldn't use that excuse anyway.
  
  Meaning that piracy wouldn't be an excuse to begin with for that.
  

  This is superman

  8.4.2013 23:28 #21

• pmshah

  The kind of activity I am involved in now keeps me away from my home base by months. We do not have recording type set top boxes. If I do not want to miss out on the serial for which I have subscribed to what recourse do I have ? Even if I did have recording box it would still be considered piracy, right? So I simply download the episodes for my own consumption and watch them at my own sweet time!

  9.4.2013 01:16 #22

• Mathieu_A

  Originally posted by Hacker7: Originally posted by raunchynm: cant imagine why anyone would want to download the series. It totally sucks. Every episode it seems to bring on another dozen characters. Its worse than reading War and Peace for the first time. YOU Suck cum drinker !! ANd what does your reply have to do with the article posted above?

  9.4.2013 14:30 #23

• 19877891

  I personally do not like this show. But as many have stated a show that is shit would get very little viewers and even fewer torrents and peers.
  
  There is the case of good shows getting axed because not enough people watch it or else if it is on SyFy. And SyFy always end a show before its time like Firefly or Stargate Universe to put on stuff like wrestling.
  
  Don't get me wrong I love wrestling but it has nothing to do with scifi as it is sports entertainment.

  12.4.2013 01:51 #24