HBO has been running its mouth all week about how big its Game of Thrones season 7 premiere was. How big? Well, I'll have to show you? *Unzips notes* 16.1 million viewers watched the premiere, night of, through live outlets and recorded options. They "smashed" records, and they're not even the Incredible Hulk.
And not unsurprisingly, there's also record-breaking piracy going along with that, including airings of the show in India, online, before the official Indian airtime. We, lucky us, get it first here in the U.S. And, in a surprising reversal of posturing from just several years past, HBO is promising to get tough on those illegally distributing their property. In 2014 HBO (and Time Warner) CEO Jeff Bewkes said, "If you go around the world, I think you’re right, Game of Thrones is the most pirated show in the world. Well, you know, that’s better than an Emmy." He added that ultimately piracy of the program ultimately leads to more subscription to their service, and they know this because they've been dealing with the issue for 20 or 30 years. Apparently their 'sub' numbers are down, because even if they're not actually pursuing legal actions, they're threatening it. The old 'sure, steal our shit it'll just make us more money' line isn't holding water any more.
So, what about the re-cap Rick? I'm getting to it, my chums. What with HBO seeming to care about people seeing the show for free, even though it's arguably more popular than it's ever been and their numbers should be better than ever, they're still winding the series down towards a now inevitable conclusion. In fact, we've got 11 episodes left. That's right, treasure each and every one, and each and every minute. And with that perspective in mind, allow me to call this episode for what it was: horse shit.
[Editor's Note: This recap will obviously go into detail about last night's episode of Game of Thrones, so there are going to be a ton of spoilers. Final warning! ~ Nick, copied and pasted by Rick]
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