Game of Thrones is Once Again the Most Torrented Show of the Year

Website TorrentFreak has released its list of the most pirated shows of 2016, and for the fifth year in a row, Game of Thrones has taken the top spot. This news comes just two weeks after Daily Mail falsely claimed that Amazon’s Grand Tour had supplanted Thrones as the most pirated show of 2016. For five years now, Game of Thrones has been the most downloaded television show through website BitTorrent. According to the report, the number of people sharing the Season 6 finale, reached 350,000 torrent shares.

TorrentFreak continues with some statistics for pirating shows in 2016. While there wasn’t a new swarm record set, as far as traffic on the site goes, the numbers were right about the same as last year’s totals. This could be attributed to people switching from torrents to streaming, in the past few months. The amount of high-quality downloads has increased, as well, with torrents moving from 480p to both 720p, and 1080p, thanks to the availability of better broadband.

AMC’s The Walking Dead came in second, while HBO’s newcomer, Westworld, landed in the third spot, which is apparently a feat worth mentioning.

"This year there’s also an important newcomer with the science-fiction western ‘Westworld.’ The new show quickly gained popularity in pirate circles and is in third spot already, which is quite an achievement."

TorrentFreak compiled a list of the most torrented television shows, across the globe, for 2016, and matched it with traditional ratings in the United States.

With only two seasons remaining for Game of Thrones, I would expect interest in the show to increase, which should keep it in the number one spot for its final two years.