It’s no secret that Game of Thrones is arguably the most popular television show in the world. In many ways, the show IS popular culture, thanks to the proliferation of insane theories, high and lowbrow speculation, constant comparisons to its source text, and all that beautiful fan art prove its hold on the zeitgeist at large. And even though we know the series has consistently ranked number one atop the “most pirated show of the year” lists, it wasn’t until season 7 that the series actually broke a BILLION illegal downloads and streams. And that’s just for this season alone.
What we’re saying is: DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN THAT’S A LOT OF Y’ALL WATCHINGÂ GAME OF THRONES!
Seriously: 1/7th of the ENTIRE POPULATION OF PLANET EARTH watches a single show. (Hey, maybe this means the series could actually convince the world that climate change is real.) That is, putting it mildly, a heck of a lot of people uniting for enjoyment of a single thing. I don’t even think that many people on earth like puppies.
The news comes to us via Muso, a piracy solutions company that’s been tracking season 7’s proliferation on illegal streaming and torrenting sites. According to them, 1.03 billion illegal downloads and streams as of September 3, 2017. Which is to say: if it feels as if most everyone you know is watching the show, it’s because they are—with or without HBO. (For reference, 31 million people watched the series via legal means.)
“Within the first 72 hours of broadcast, the season seven premiere was downloaded and streamed over 90 million times and, as expected, this was overshadowed by the season finale which accumulated a figure of more than 120 million downloads and streams,” explained Muso in a statement. “However, episode six had received 29 per cent more instances of piracy consumption than the season finale by the 3 September, which is likely due to the leak that occurred before the episode officially aired.”
As the fall continues, it’s safe to assume that number will increase. Are you surprised? Let us know in the comments below.
Image: HBO
Alicia Lutes is the Managing Editor, creator/co-host of Fangirling, and resident Khaleesi of House Nerdist. Find her on Twitter!
WANT MOREÂ GAME OF THRONES?
- Game of Thrones VFX reel brings the Army of the Dead to life.
- See Jon Snow’s secrets unraveled throughout this supercut.
- Watch The Hound, Jorah, Tormund, and Beric throw down with dueling banjos!
