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US Ambassador: Stop downloading Game of Thrones!

US Ambassador Jeffrey Bleich has asked Australian fans to stop illegally downloading Game of Thrones.

2013-04-25_2357US Ambassador Jeffrey Bleich used UN World Book and Copyright Day earlier this week to make a plea on behalf of US creatives.

He asked Australian fans to stop illegally downloading Game of Thrones.

On Facebook he wrote:

“One episode was illegally downloaded about 4,280,000 times through public BitTorrent trackers in 2012, which is about equal to the number of that episode’s broadcast viewers. In other words, about half of that episode’s viewers stole the program from HBO. As the Ambassador here in Australia, it was especially troubling to find out that Australian fans were some of the worst offenders with among the highest piracy rates of Game of Thrones in the world. While some people here used to claim that they used pirate sites only because of a delay in getting new episodes here, the show is now available from legitimate sources within hours of its broadcast in the United States.

“A show like Game of Thrones takes a lot of work and talent by many artists to create. These artists can do this work only if we ensure that they are rewarded for their labors. Production companies are no different. Entire industries exist to locate artists, provide them a forum for their works, arrange contracts, record, promote, and sell their works, and free artists from doing other things – like waiting tables and parking cars in Hollywood — by paying them for their efforts.

“If the 4 million people who watched Game of Thrones legally had been illegal downloaders – the show would be off the air and there would never have been a Season 3.”

NB: A reminder that while piracy can be discussed on TV Tonight, endorsement of illegal piracy is a breach of Comments Policy.

55 Responses

  1. Max, please! I’m not saying physical sales should remain forever strong. Yet, when people drop out of that market for online they have two options; one – go legal with iTunes, BigPond Movies, or Spotify; two – go where most people are heading & just steal everything. If most people were getting their entertainment legally, then I wouldn’t have a problem with the demise of CD/DVD/Blu-ray.

    Even if I was to except your wishful thinking about “buzz,” implicit in your argument is that you lot should keep getting content for free as long as others pay for it. Because you know as well as I do that if everyone was to steal, there would be no industry left to save. It’s funny you mention HDTV sales plateauing, because it’s for the same reason! People are increasingly using their home PC or tablet to watch everything! Ha!

    Why so hostile? Don’t like looking in the mirror?

  2. Victor, that has absolutely nothing to do with the issue at hand. If it wasn’t so serious, the pirates with their dodging & weaving on this subject would be laughable.

  3. @Stan, April 26 –

    “Why are DVD/Blu-ray sales plummeting & the retailers that sell/rent them dropping like flies? Where do people get this “awareness/buzz” argument from? There’s no proof to back it – it’s just wishful thinking.”

    There is proof and facts and figures from the industry themselves as to why physical sales are dropping. Streaming options, disc media is aging (you could look at PC gaming and Steam sales as examples of changing habits). HDTV sales are plateauing, too. Are more people stealing TV sets? No, of course not.

    Do some googling instead of sticking your head in the sand.

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