Game of Thrones is one of the series ' most pirated in the world, and the season 8 of the saga of HBO is no exception to this observation. According to the british institute MUSO, specializing in the study of the phenomena of piracy in favour of having rights and of the media, the first episode of this final season has been watched illegally by 55 million internet users in the 24 hours following its airing on the american channel HBO. The latter indicated that the episode had been followed up in a way that is completely legal in the United States by 17.4 million Americans, a record for Game of Thrones .

MUSO has also established the ranking of the countries with the most hacked this episode. In the lead, and very far away, a figure of India with 9.5 million views illegal. In this country, Game of Thrones is streamed legally by the streaming platform, video Hotstar, which is owned by Disney. Hotstar has 300 million monthly users and is far ahead of Netflix in India. If a large part of the content is accessible free of charge advertising, series, premium as a Game of Thrones are protected by a subscription at eur 4 per month (rs 300). A considerable sum for many people indians, who rushed to find indirect means and free to watch the episode.

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Second in the ranking, China with 5.2 million views pirates. In this country, the released version legally Game of Thrones is censored ; watching illegally is the only way to see the original work. After the United States. The 3.9 million pirates identified are four times less likely than those who have watched legally the episode on HBO. Then comes the United Kingdom (2.4 million), Nigeria (2.2 million), Iran (1.8 million), Kenya (1.4 million), Canada (1.2 million) and Australia (1.1 million). France ranks eighth, with 1.3 million pirates.

According to MUSO, these hacks are made to 76.6% via illegal streaming sites, 12% of the direct download and to 11% by the download peer-to-peer.

The institute has also noted the significant rise in the hacking of the previous seasons of Game of Thrones these past few weeks. "The first seven seasons are part of the 25 series are the most pirated in the world on the first 11 days of April, with a real acceleration from march," he says. "Season 1 was the most pirated. The result may be an interview with the actress Maisie Williams advising to review this season before starting season 8."

For Andy Chatterley, president of MUSO, "these large audiences should not be ignored. The holders of rights need to understand that people who hack are one of the biggest fans of their content and they represent a huge commercial potential." Season 7 of Game of Thrones has been hacked a billion times. At the same time, the saga relates each year to HBO a billion dollars through the sales of rights, DVD sales and various derivative products.