'Game of Thrones' Was Pirated 1 Billion Times, Seriously

Daenerys and Jon Snow Season 7 Game of Thrones

HBO

“Game of Thrones” broke ratings records for HBO in its latest season, but it paled in comparison to the amount of people watching the show illegally.

With its seventh season plagued by hackers, the popular fantasy show was pirated more than 1 billion times, according to anti-piracy firm Muso. HBO may want to start hunting down some of these phony subscribers, because “Game of Thrones” was routinely watched illegally 10 times more than it was watched legally.

Its season finale set an HBO overnight record with 16.5 million viewers, which still came in at a fraction of the 143 million people that illegally streamed or downloaded the episode. As of Sept. 3, the most pirated episode was the season premiere, with more than 187 million global streams and downloads. Altogether, “Game of Thrones” was illegally watched 1.03 billion times this summer.

Also Read: You Can Blame Arya for That Ed Sheeran 'Game of Thrones' Cameo

“Game of Thrones has become one of the biggest global entertainment phenomena of today and activity across piracy networks has been totally unprecedented,” said MUSO CEO Andy Chatterley in a statement. “In addition to the scale of piracy when it comes to popular shows, these numbers demonstrate that unlicensed streaming can be a far more significant type of piracy than torrent downloads.”

The group behind the hacking scandal, dubbing itself “Mr. Smith,” demanded $6 million in bitcoin from HBO to stop the release of “Game of Thrones” and other shows, like “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” HBO decided against paying off the hackers.

“Leaks, spoilers and indeed illegal downloading do not affect the desire to view live among fans who are committed to seeing episodes as soon as they air, whether it is a popular series such as ‘GoT’ or a cult favorite such as ‘Supernatural,'” Rhiannon Bury, an associate professor at Athabasca University, told TheWrap last month.

Also Read: See How 'Game of Thrones' Pulled Off an Epic Battle With Thousands of Ice Zombies (Video)

HBO wasn’t the only major studio impacted by piracy this year. Hackers released the entire fifth season of Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black” ahead of schedule, after the streaming giant scoffed at paying a ransom.

'Game of Thrones:' Did You Notice These Characters Were Recast? (Photos)

Now that Season 7 is over, we have a giant "Game of Thrones"-shaped void in our lives. To help ease the loss, here's some "GoT" trivia for you. Did you know there has been a preponderance of popular characters who have been recast over the span of the hit HBO series? Browse through to learn who they are.
HBO
Ser Gregor Clegane

In Season 1, The Hound's older brother was played by Conan Stevens (left). When scheduling conflicts with his role as an Orc in "The Hobbit" arose, Stevens was replaced by Ian Whyte (center) for Season 2, who was playing a White Walker. Icelandic actor Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (right) took over the part for the remaining seasons.
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Daario Naharis

One of Daenerys' love interests, the leader of the Second Sons, has been played by two actors. Ed Skrein (left), who played Daario in Season 3, told E! News in 2015 he left because of "politics." "It was a wonderful experience, but politics led to us parting ways," Skrein said at the time. Michiel Huisman (right) took over the role for Season 4 and beyond.
WikiCommons
Tommen Baratheon

The young Callum Wharry's (left) first acting role was that of Tommen Baratheon, son of Cersei and Jaime Lannister. He played Tommen in the first two seasons, but by Season 4, Dean Charles-Chapman (right) took over the character. Charles-Chapman previously played the part of Martyn Lannister, Tommen's cousin.
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The Three-Eyed Raven

For the very brief scene in which The Three-Eyed Raven is introduced in Season 4, the mystical character was played by British actor Struan Rodger (left). The role was taken over in Season 6 by Max von Sydow (right) for the meatier scenes in which he takes Bran through time.

Also Read: ‘Game of Thrones': Everyone Arya Stark Has Killed So Far (Photos)
WikiCommons
Myrcella Baratheon

Another one of Cersei and Jaime Lannister's children, Myrcella, was recast after a two-season hiatus. In Seasons 1 and 2, Aimee Richardson (left) played the (bastard) princess after being a stand-in. But after Myrcella was sent to Dorne, she didn't reappear until Season 5. Nell Tiger Free (right) then took over the role to play the older Myrcella.

Also Read: ‘Game of Thrones’ 101: A Timeline of Cersei and Jaime’s Complicated Relationship (Photos)
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The Night King

Richard Brake (left) played The Night King in Seasons 4 and 5, before the role was taken over by professional stunt performer Vladimir Furdik (right) from the episode "The Door" onward. In that episode, we see The Night King when he was still human, and the producers said they wanted to give the cold weather character a more distinctive look from the other White Walkers.

Also Read: Miss ‘Game of Thrones’? Here Are 8 Other Shows to Binge Until It Returns (Photos)
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From The Mountain to The Night King, these characters have been played by multiple actors

Now that Season 7 is over, we have a giant "Game of Thrones"-shaped void in our lives. To help ease the loss, here's some "GoT" trivia for you. Did you know there has been a preponderance of popular characters who have been recast over the span of the hit HBO series? Browse through to learn who they are.

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