HBO’s House of the Dragon has emerged as the most-pirated TV show of the last 12 months, according to the Torrentfreak website.
Game of Thrones itself had made the top spot its own until the series came to an end in 2019, allowing two Disney shows, The Mandalorian in 2020 and Wandavision in 2021, to claim victory.
In a Top 10 comprised entirely of new shows, Amazon premier The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, was in second place ahead of The Boys, Moonlight and Halo. Many of the shows are in the science-fiction/fantasy genre, which may also give an indication as to the demographic of those preferring illegality to a paid subscription.
However, piracy via a torrent represents but a small part of the pirate landscape. Many others stream the shows via illegal websites or set-top boxes that don’t report the figures.
The irony of torrent sites reporting more data than many legal streaming services is not lost.
