Unless you have been living under a rock for the past 10 to 15 years, you know there is a massive number of viewers that prefer to use alternative ways to watch their favorite tv shows. From downloading torrents to watching them on the many existing streaming sites , watching tv and movies illegally is now a big part of the pop culture community.

Some believe the increase of illegal views has something to do with the fractioning of legal streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and many more.  People are more likely to pay for only one or two streaming services and find “alternative” streaming methods to view shows and movies not featured on their present paying services.

For seven consecutive years, Game of Thrones owned the title of the most illegally downloaded TV Show. It was roughly estimated at 350,000 downloads per episode.  And considering the fact that many viewers have switched from torrent to streaming, the real numbers are almost impossible to evaluate.

Game of Thrones Is No Longer the Most Pirated TV Show

Unfortunately (is it really?) they lost their piracy title as they took a break between seasons 7 and 8. During their two-year hiatus, it’s The Walking Dead from AMC that dethroned them by taking the first place. As of today, TWD still keeps its title despite GOT’S first episode of season 8 airing earlier this week. The following year will definitely have a big impact on the top 10 since most of these shows are coming to an end as well.

1. The Walking Dead
2. The Flash
3. The Big Bang Theory – Canceled
4. Vikings – Canceled
5. Titans
6. Arrow – Canceled
7. Supernatural – Canceled
8. Westworld
9. Legends of Tomorrow
10. Suits – Canceled

From what we know so far about GOT’s final season, it could be the best one yet despite having only six episodes. It is expected that the show takes back its number one place before the end of the last episodes, regardless of all the precautions HBO is taking to try and solve a growing problem that is making them lose millions in profit.

“This final season is going to be incredible. They’re all ruling, you know, they’re all back on top – it’s pretty impressive.” – Maisie Williams, AKA Arya Stark

The first episode has already broken GOT’s record with more than 17,4 million legal viewers. And even though the numbers of illegal views haven’t been confirmed yet, it is believed that they will also be record-breaking for the show.

The question we must ask ourselves now is how many streaming platforms would it take to stop using alternative ways? And at what cost?

By Gabe St-Arnaud
Contributing Writer, GAS