“Game of Thrones” named most pirated TV show of 2012

With 2012 coming to a close, a look back on the years most desired and downloaded shows reveals which series came out on top. HBO’s “Game of Thrones” has been named the most-pirated television show of the year. The extremely popular and sought after show has fairly limited availability when it comes to legal downloads and experiences many airing delays for people who live in places such as Australia (where wait times can be up to a week longer then the U.S. air dates).

In the U.S., “Game of Thrones” pulled an audience of about 4.2 million viewers into its fantasy land, and according to news site TorrentFreak, just as many people are illegally downloading the show. In 2012, a single episode of “Game of Thrones” was downloaded a total of 4.28 million times. This means that a single episode attracted more illegal downloads than the number of people that watch the programme on TV in the U.S.

The largest volume of illegal downloads are stemming from Australia, with the U.S. trailing second and the U.K. fourth. The top ten pirated shows of 2012 are ranked below and it comes as no surprise that mega hits such as “Dexter” and “The Big Bang Theory” top the list.

Most pirated TV shows in 2012

1. Game of Thrones

Downloads: 4.28m

Estimated US TV audience: 4.2 million

2. Dexter

Downloads: 3.85m

Estimated US TV audience: 2.75 million

3. The Big Bang Theory

Downloads: 3.2m

Estimated US TV audience: 15.8 million

4. How I Met Your Mother

Downloads: 2.96m

Estimated US TV audience: 10.1 million

5. Breaking Bad

Downloads: 2.58m

Estimated US TV audience: 2.98 million

6. The Walking Dead

Downloads: 2.55m

Estimated US TV audience: 10.87 million

7. Homeland

Downloads: 2.4m

Estimated US TV audience: 2.36 million

8. House

Downloads: 2.34m

Estimated US TV audience: 9.78 million

9. Fringe

Downloads: 2.28m

Estimated US TV audience: 3.12 million

10. Revolution

Downloads: 2.13m

Estimated US TV audience: 11.65 million