DESPITE Game of Thrones being available at the same time as it is in the United States and cheaper than ever before, Australian’s are still pirating the show more than any other country in the world.

According to online media analytics company Tru Optik, Australia was responsible for 3.8% of illegal downloads of Game of Thrones during season five’s first week. On a per-capita, basis, that means Australia was responsible for the most downloads of any country.



To legally watch Game of Thrones in Australia, you have to subscribe to Foxtel’s Play Service for a minimum of $25 and add the Premium Movies and Drama package for an additional $5.

Alternatively, Aussies have been signing up to the US-only HBO Now service and using VPN services to get around geoblocking to watch in Australia. The cost of that is $US15 a month ($AUD20) plus $AU3-5 a month for a DNS or VPN service. All up, close to $AU25, or $5 less than Foxtel’s offering.
HBO has recently been blocking people using VPNs to avoid geoblocking, leaving Foxtel as the only legal way to access the service.