Pay TV provider Foxtel has thrown down the gauntlet to illegal downloaders of the most pirated show of 2012, Game of Thrones, with the network’s exclusive fast-tracking deal with HBO hoped to take some of the wind out of the pirates’ sails.
Foxtel director of programming and channels Ross Crowley told AdNews the network wanted to tap into the show’s massive popularity and take a bite out of the hundreds of thousands of illegal downloads by offering a viable alternative.
“The illegal downloaders will do what they’re doing, but inherently they do it because there are no alternatives. Piracy becomes an economic issue. As we produce the alternative, their incentive disappears,” he said.
According to file-sharing news website TorrentFreak, Game of Thrones was the most pirated TV show of 2012, with 4.28 million BitTorrent downloads for a single episode and over three million per episode on average. Ten percent of those downloads came from Australia – the highest of any country. The trailer for the highly anticipated third season attracted nearly 18 million YouTube views in just under a week.
Late last year, Foxtel struck a deal with HBO giving the Australian pay TV operator exclusive first-run access to its catalogue of shows, with the programs fast-tracked to air in Australia just hours after the US.
MCN national sales director Mark Frain said the deal with HBO had led to greater advertiser interest.
“We have definitely seen greater momentum from advertisers. HBO’s shows are globally recognised. Brands and advertisers want to be associated with that premium content,” he said.
In terms of subscriber take-up, Crowley said he wouldn’t go so far as to say there had been a ‘spike’, but that there had been “incredibly strong feedback across a range of channels”. “It’s because we’re finally doing what the networks can’t do,” he said.
The wildly popular TV adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s adult fantasy series has been a hot topic in the media in the past few weeks. David Petrarca, one of the show’s directors, told the Perth Writers Festival that illegal downloads didn’t matter as they contributed to its “cultural buzz” and generated social commentary.
After his comments were widely circulated online, Petrarca was forced to retract and clarify his stance. “I am 100%, completely and utterly against people illegally downloading anything,” he said the next day.
Quizzed on whether illegal downloading increased the show’s popularity and ultimately made for a more valuable product, Crowley said: “Viral buzz gets to the heart of social – we are social creatures. Whether you’re talking about Game of Thrones or My Kitchen Rules, it draws people in. Ultimately, we have faith in the social aspect of TV.”
Foxtel will be rolling out a major advertising campaign in the coming weeks ahead of Game of Thrones’ third season premiere on 31 March.
This article first appeared in the 8 March 2013 edition of AdNews, in print and on iPad. Click here to subscribe for more news, features and opinion.
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