Don't know if this belongs here or the thread about downloads, but I think it is an interesting way to measure a show's popularity. For instance, Supernatural has as many official viewers -Nielsen ratings- as illegal.
With nearly 4 million downloads per episode, the HBO hit series Game of Thrones is the most pirated TV-show of the season. Worldwide hype combined with restricted availability are the key ingredients for the staggering number of unauthorized downloads. How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory complete the top three, albeit with significantly fewer downloads than the chart topper....
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Game of Thrones is particularly popular in Australia, where people have to wait a week after the U.S. release comes out. Nevertheless, even in the U.S. hundreds and thousands are downloading the show for free, although many would love to pay for it if HBO offered a standalone HBO GO subscription...
1 Game of Thrones 3,900,000 4,200,000
2 How I Met Your Mother 2,830,000 8,870,000
3 The Big Bang Theory 2,750,000 15,040,000
4 House 2,310,000 8,720,000
5 Mad Men 1,870,000 9,780,000
6 Modern Family 1,800,000 10,600,000
7 Revenge 1,730,000 7,850,000
8 Desperate Housewives 1,660,000 11,120,000
9 Family Guy 1,600,000 5,740,000
10 Supernatural 1,540,000 1,780,000
https://torrentfreak.com/game-of-throne ... on-120608/