HBO’s “Game of Thrones” piracy is better than an Emmy, according to Time Warner chief Jeff Bewkes. On an earnings call Bewkes said that piracy was in this case “a tremendous word of mouth thing as well.” He also commented that “Game of Thrones” was the most pirated show in the world.
Bewkes said he would have a different opinion if people who were engaging in the copyright infringement were potential subscribers. He didn’t see much if any of a direct loss to HBO. “Game of Thrones” director David Petrarca shared Bewkes’ perspective. Earlier in the year he contended that in this case piracy was adding to the “cultural buzz”
“Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin had a slightly different take. While acknowledging that the widespread copyright infringement was a compliment, he said it was one that he would rather not receive.
Complimentary as it may seem, it’s difficult to see how the buzz generated by the pirated of “Game of Thrones” benefits HBO’s bottom line. HBO doesn’t benefit from “eyeballs” since it derives no revenues from advertising. It’s subscription model is based directly on payments from viewers. That must mean that the copyright infringement leads directly to increased number of subscribers. That’s an interesting theory, but I’d very much like to see the math.
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