Games Of Thrones, The Walking Dead And Westworld Are Among 2016’s Most Pirated Shows

While we’re still waiting on the list of 2016’s most pirated films, Torrent Freak has now released the television version and much to the surprise of no one, a very familiar name sits right at the top. For 2016, HBO’s Game of Thrones reigns supreme once again, an honor (?) it’s now had for five years in a row.

Following close behind in second is AMC’s The Walking Dead, while new kid on the block Westworld takes home the bronze medal. It’s not a terribly surprising top 3 all things considered, given the immense popularity of each show and their significant impact on pop culture – not to mention that they all had some rather shocking events occur this year which sent shockwaves through the internet.

That being said, given that Westworld is still pretty new, it’s a bit surprising to see it so high up on the list. Such is the nature of the show, though. It inspired much conversation and debate amongst fans and obviously, everyone wanted to be in the know and able to join the conversation – whether they paid for an HBO subscription or not.

Elsewhere on the list, you’ll find popular shows like Arrow, The Flash and Lucifer. While these can all be accessed with nothing but a basic cable connection, it seems that audiences still prefer to find other ways to watch them. Why that is is hard to say, as there isn’t enough data to formulate any concrete theory, but it’s clear that people are getting pretty comfortable with torrenting and it’s quickly becoming the go-to method for watching television.

Perhaps some of this has to do with spoilers. Given the nature of most of the shows that appear on this list, it’s understandable that people want to watch new episodes as quickly as they can, and by any means necessary. After all, if you don’t catch up within several hours of the episode airing, there’s a pretty good chance that it’ll be spoiled for you.

In this day and age, you really can’t go on the internet until you’ve seen the latest instalment of your favorite show and as such, it makes sense that audiences who either don’t have access to networks like HBO or simply missed the episode would want to watch it at their own convenience and as quickly as possible.

Whatever the case may be, the full list of 2016’s most pirated television shows is now out and can be found below. Give it a look and let us know if any of your favorites are on here.

1. Game of Thrones
2. The Walking Dead
3. Westworld
4. The Flash
5. Arrow
6. The Big Bang Theory
7. Vikings
8. Lucifer
9. Suits
10. The Grand Tour