Game of Thrones premiere sets piracy record

[SheHateMe]

I missed it when it aired. That's why I downloaded it to put on my HTPC. I'd watch it on xfinity.com but the shit doesn't work half the time and the player keeps crashing.

Done with it.

 

[randomrogue]

It doesn't air where I live for who knows how many months so downloading was the only option!

The episode was terrible. This series has put a significant effort into making the series as shitty as possible for those of us who read the books.

 

[Midwayman]

I missed it when it aired. That's why I downloaded it to put on my HTPC. I'd watch it on xfinity.com but the shit doesn't work half the time and the player keeps crashing.

Done with it.

There's that and you can download the whole thing before playing so no buffering issues or quality drops. Even though I have the legit streaming options, they are kind of annoying.

People did see that HBO is seriously considering making HBOgo available as an add-on to your internet bill instead of cable, right?

 

[ElFenix]

these stupid companies still haven't learned... if they make it quick & easy for anyone to download (regardless of region and other BS) at a reasonable price (usually $1 or at most <$5) and they own it (i.e. can watch as many times as they want, no drm) - people would flock to it...

yes, leaving a proven business model that makes you shit tons of money for an unproven one that very well could undercut your proven business model is stupid.

 

[Red Storm]

There's that and you can download the whole thing before playing so no buffering issues or quality drops. Even though I have the legit streaming options, they are kind of annoying.

People did see that HBO is seriously considering making HBOgo available as an add-on to your internet bill instead of cable, right?

Add-on implies you still need some other service to get it. When they offer standalone online streaming to anyone then they will have gotten it.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Add-on implies you still need some other service to get it. When they offer standalone online streaming to anyone then they will have gotten it.

Yeah, internet service. Since an online streaming service is pretty useless if you don't have an internet connection.

I know, Netflix doesn't piggyback on your internet bill... baby steps.

 

[Jodell88]

Even though it is the most pirated show. It has also broken all of HBO's sales records.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Why make it convenient for people to watch? That's too smart.

It already is very convenient to watch. You just pay for HBO and there it is.

 

[mugs]

It will not be on Netflix

How does HBO prevent Netflix from renting the DVDs?

 

[dr150]

....I wonder how long it'll take companies to figure out that people are willing to pay a la carte for quality programming. If they put the episodes up for sale at a couple bucks apiece (maybe an extra $1 for HD), they'd make tons of money and piracy would go way down.

Then again, they might also lose some cable subscribers.

But as long as you're looking at $1,000+ a year to legitimately watch a 10-episode TV series when it comes out, there are a lot of people who would never even consider subscribing in the first place.

The music industry has learned this. So has the video game industry. But from where I'm sitting, the best two ways to watch movies are Netflix ($10 a month for all the shitty movies I can stomach) and Redbox ($1.30 for fairly recent releases). It just seems ridiculous that the best way to watch reasonably new releases is to walk over to a vending machine that dispenses physical media.

The Louis CK way is indeed the correct way. Charge less that people can stomach and they'll pay. Companies are too greedy when it comes to pricing. They've done the modeling and are fine with stomaching the piracy, otherwise they'd change their MO.

He's probably really thinking "I could buy that second yacht."

He's thinking both....that extra Dragon scene and his yacht....while HBO is thinking they'll scam more from the Producers.

Season 1
Season 2

One can also subscribe to HBO for 3 months then take it off the channel list when GOT ends. In that manner you get to watch GOT and all the other HBO stuff.

 

[Red Storm]

It already is very convenient to watch. You just pay for HBO and there it is.

Not at all convenient for those who don't feel the need to pay for hundreds of useless channels just to access the few that are interesting.

 

[Midwayman]

Add-on implies you still need some other service to get it. When they offer standalone online streaming to anyone then they will have gotten it.

Except for a small group of people like students on university campuses I think that most people need internet to stream. Basically it means they don't need to figure out the whole billing thing, their existing authentication model still works, and their existing partners still see the revenue. Smoothing the way for it to happen at all. Once that sort of model has been proven successful maybe they can branch out further. The music industry had to take baby steps to get where mp3s are now too.

 

[Red Storm]

Except for a small group of people like students on university campuses I think that most people need internet to stream. Basically it means they don't need to figure out the whole billing thing, their existing authentication model still works, and their existing partners still see the revenue. Smoothing the way for it to happen at all. Once that sort of model has been proven successful maybe they can branch out further. The music industry had to take baby steps to get where mp3s are now too.

My point was that instead of say Comcast cable, you'd instead need Comcast internet, which may or may not be the best service in your area (be it fastest, most affordable, or whatever). You're still being locked in.

The MP3 example doesn't hold up as well in this day and age, as we already have plenty of popular services that have already paved the way for guys like HBO. It's all about money and that's it.

 

[Juddog]

How does HBO prevent Netflix from renting the DVDs?

Long story, but basically boils down to HBO not licensing out their cash cow. Netflix can technically still buy the discs, but can't get them at a reduced cost like they can with most of their other discs.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-57353134-261/hbo-forces-netflix-to-go-elsewhere-for-its-dvds/

 

[Craig234]

Kudos to HBO for making it. How many 'high fantasy' shows have been made that are mostly ignored except some nerds, for HBO to make a big investment in this?

Who knew there'd be such a big audience for a show like this instead of safe action and romance shows.

 

[Juddog]

Kudos to HBO for making it. How many 'high fantasy' shows have been made that are mostly ignored except some nerds, for HBO to make a big investment in this?

Who knew there'd be such a big audience for a show like this instead of safe action and romance shows.

Well it was IMHO one of the best set of fantasy novels ever written. It has a lot more complexity than classics like LOTR. It was a good thing that GRRM held out in deciding to wait to license his works until the proper network (HBO) came out to license them. From watching various interviews with GRRM, apparently he's had a lot of offers in the past from various companies to license the Game of Thrones series, but nothing that convinced him it would be worth it until HBO came along with their offer.

For example he felt that a movie wouldn't do the storyline justice, and neither would a series produced by someone with a smaller budget than HBO.

 

[Ns1]

Not at all convenient for those who don't feel the need to pay for hundreds of useless channels just to access the few that are interesting.

so what you're saying is free > pay and if you don't want to pay for it, stealing it is ok.

 

[Jodell88]

so what you're saying is free > pay and if you don't want to pay for it, stealing it is ok.

No, what he's saying is that cable has crap value for money the spent.

 

[AstroManLuca]

My point was that instead of say Comcast cable, you'd instead need Comcast internet, which may or may not be the best service in your area (be it fastest, most affordable, or whatever). You're still being locked in.

I guess ideally they would offer the service through all the major ISPs, not just one. It would be kind of pointless to only offer it through Comcast when there are a large number of people who can't even get Comcast if they want (they have to use Charter, or Time Warner, or something else).

 

[Red Storm]

No, what he's saying is that cable has crap value for the money spent.

Yes, this is obviously what I meant.

I guess ideally they would offer the service through all the major ISPs, not just one. It would be kind of pointless to only offer it through Comcast when there are a large number of people who can't even get Comcast if they want (they have to use Charter, or Time Warner, or something else).

lol, I guess I'm not being totally clear here. Change "Comcast" with whoever is the big provider for a specific area, chances are this deal only applies to them. And you can bet they are the most expensive provider in the area as well.

Netflix, Hulu, the various online sport streaming options (ie NBA League Pass) have already paved the way for HBO. The only reason why they haven't done it is because the cable companies pay them not to.

 

[OogyWaWa]

yes, leaving a proven business model that makes you shit tons of money for an unproven one that very well could undercut your proven business model is stupid.

spoken like a true old-timer. they don't have to abandon the existing model - they need to expand it. also, i don't see how itunes hasn't proven to the world that the newer model is sound... sure you might poach some sales from the existing model, but the existing model is already dying... dvd/bluray will be a thing of the past in 5-10yrs. assuming someone wakes up and smells the roses, direct-to-desktop(mobile, whatever) HD streaming of new releases will also get rid of movie theaters in the long run.

all they've done with their online portal is migrate the same model to the internet. only available in certain places, monthly subscription, delayed viewing, etc.

Think of all the people they could rope in with their existing media hype if you could download by episode. People will pay a few bucks to see if it's worth it... not commit to a monthly fee of something they aren't sure they like or not.

People want choice. People want flexibility. People want cheap. People want ownership of what they buy.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

I couldn't find a good file on usenet so I resorted to torrenting...I would gladly pay for hbo if I didn't need to also pay for a shit cable package on top of it. oh well their loss.

 

[Insomniator]

I'd pay a dollar or 2 an episode, if they made it fast and easy to download in HD. But no, they make it impossible to get, or it costs 5 bucks an episode on some stupid DVD set that comes out a year late.

Just make it reasonable and people will pay. They should not be surprised that piracy is high when it literally costs thousands of dollars for someone to watch it on cable + HBO, with ads, at specific times only. Its fucking ancient.

I haven't downloaded a movie since Redbox came out. $1.50 for BLU RAY's of new releases, at stores 1 minute from my house. Its PERFECT. Blockbuster used to charge $6 for the same thing, and hey... they are out of business.

Many of us are willing to pay if you make it reasonable!

 

[AstroManLuca]

spoken like a true old-timer. they don't have to abandon the existing model - they need to expand it. also, i don't see how itunes hasn't proven to the world that the newer model is sound... sure you might poach some sales from the existing model, but the existing model is already dying... dvd/bluray will be a thing of the past in 5-10yrs. assuming someone wakes up and smells the roses, direct-to-desktop(mobile, whatever) HD streaming of new releases will also get rid of movie theaters in the long run.

all they've done with their online portal is migrate the same model to the internet. only available in certain places, monthly subscription, delayed viewing, etc.

Think of all the people they could rope in with their existing media hype if you could download by episode. People will pay a few bucks to see if it's worth it... not commit to a monthly fee of something they aren't sure they like or not.

People want choice. People want flexibility. People want cheap. People want ownership of what they buy.

It doesn't matter if it WOULD work, the problem is how the TV providers perceive the situation. Since they're the ones writing the checks.

If HBO comes out with a streaming service kind of like Netflix, cable companies see that as a huge problem because it no longer forces people to overpay for their crap just to get access to HBO. They then reduce how much money they pay HBO.

HBO is comfy where they are now. Making lots of money risk-free. They may eventually need to change things but they're not going to yet.

 

[Midwayman]

Netflix, Hulu, the various online sport streaming options (ie NBA League Pass) have already paved the way for HBO. The only reason why they haven't done it is because the cable companies pay them not to.

Its clear online is viable distribution method, but its more complex than that. I don't think cable companies are directly paying HBO, but there are complex bundling deals going on with all the other channels that time-warner owns. Im not sure that broadband it pervasive enough in the US that they can risk the revenue from those other streams by angering cable companies.

Apparently both netflix and amamzon are trying to start original shows that will be online only. It'll be interesting to see how those take off, as it'll be a far closer model for how something like HBO, SHO, etc can make a move to exclusively digital distribution.