As every other Game of Thrones nerd out there, I am giddy with anticipation for the start of the new season. I jumped on the book reading club bandwagon rather late, yet it’s only increased my love for the show.
The season premiers in Belgium the 13th of April; in the US, it was the 6th. One week doesn’t seem to be that big a time to wait… But by Monday the 7th, the internet will be a-buzz with reactions, spoilers, and a plethora of pirated copies.
In the hyperconnected world of content, the entertainment industry seems to not have gotten the memo just yet. “Internet: now faster than the speed of light”. Their business model is flawed. Copyright laws and distribution rights linked to country borders are preventing good, law abiding citizens from watching shows, movies, downloading music or even viewing paid content on YouTube that generates massive global buzz.
With some movies, luckily, studios expedite the process around the world so the movie releases within a reasonable time (sometimes just a day’s difference) from the world premiere. In other cases, like with the show Game of Thrones, Belgian fans need to wait a week to watch AND they’ll probably already know what happened thanks to social media.
Game of Thrones happened to be the most pirated show in 2013. HBO (the network that runs it) has a reputation already of making it very hard for anyone to watch their show “legally”. The Oatmeal says it best:
So what’s the point of this rant? Get a grip entertainment industry! You complain about piracy all the time, yet sometimes, you seem immovable in terms of policy progress. If it’s easily available and reasonably priced, most people will purchase and your piracy problems will reduce.
For the Belgian fans of GOT, you know already season 4 premieres Sunday. I know what happens (thank you Facebook), but I’m still so obsessed I won’t care….
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