'Game of Thrones' Tops List of the Season's Most Pirated Shows

Season two of HBO’s Game of Thrones broke ratings records, including pulling in 4.2 million viewers during its finale on June 3. Throughout the season, Game of Thrones has been averaging 10.3 million viewers per episode, topping last season's 9.3 million average and making it the third-most-watched series in HBO history.

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It turns out that these numbers would be even higher if illegal viewings were considered.

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According to a study by TorrentFreak, the “War is Coming” battle drama was the most-pirated show of the spring season, averaging nearly 4 million illegal downloads per episode.

The downloading numbers are highest in Australia, due in part to the fact that the show airs one week after the U.S. premiere.

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How I Met Your Mother took the second place slot, averaging about 2.8 million illegal downloads per episode. The Big Bang Theory placed third, with about 2.75 million illegal downloads per episode.

The rest of the list included House, Mad Men, Modern Family, Revenge, Desperate Housewives, Family Guy and Supernatural. View TorrentFreak’s complete list here.