Hollywood
Game of Thrones is the most pirated show of 2013
With 2013 nearing its end TorrentFreak (TF) has released the list for their Top 10 Most Pirated Shows and Game of Thrones takes the crown again this year followed by Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. Game of Thrones holds the honour of becoming the most downloaded TV-show for the third year in a row.
With 5.9 million downloads via BitTorrent, the 2013 season finale beat the competition by a landslide. More than half the downloads happened in the first week after the show aired and apparently the total exceeds the number of traditional viewers in the US.
Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead complete the top three with an estimated 4.2 and 3.6 million downloadsa are est respectively. The datimated by TorrentFreak based on several sources, including download statistics reported by public BitTorrent trackers.
It doesn’t come as a surprise that Game of Thrones topped the charts as the show has broken two piracy records already this year, with over 170,000 people sharing a copy of an episode simultaneously.
There are a wide variety of reasons why people download TV-shows, but to a certain degree one could claim that HBO is to blame for the massive piracy of Game of Thrones. The network prefers to keep access to the show exclusive and even Netflix wasn’t able to buy the rights no matter what they offered.
Interestingly enough, TF also learned this year that the huge number of unauthorised downloads don’t bother the show’s makers much. Game of Thrones director David Petrarca previously admitted to TorrentFreak that piracy generated much-needed “cultural buzz” around his show.
Hollywood
UK watchdog CMA to probe Warner Bros-Paramount merger deal
Phase 1 review to assess competition risks as industry voices opposition
LONDON: The Competition and Markets Authority is set to launch a preliminary investigation into the proposed $110 billion merger between Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount, marking the first formal regulatory step in assessing the deal’s impact on competition.
The UK watchdog has initiated a consultation process with industry stakeholders, inviting comments until April 27. This phase, known as a Phase 1 review, will evaluate whether the merger could harm competition across the film and television sectors, both of which play a significant role in the UK economy.
“We expect to launch our phase 1 investigation in the coming weeks,” said Competition and Markets Authority spokesperson, in an emailed statement to Reuters. “The film and TV industries contribute billions to our economy, so it’s important we assess whether deals between studios may harm competition.”
The proposed transaction, which also involves Skydance Media, would bring together two of Hollywood’s largest studios, combining extensive content libraries and potentially reshaping the global entertainment landscape.
Following the initial assessment, the regulator will decide whether to escalate the matter to a more detailed Phase 2 investigation, which typically involves deeper scrutiny of market dynamics and competitive risks.
The deal is already facing growing resistance from within the creative community. More than 1,000 industry professionals, including Jane Fonda, Mark Ruffalo and Ben Stiller, have publicly opposed the merger, warning it could reduce opportunities, limit storytelling diversity and place further strain on an industry still adjusting to rapid change.
As regulators begin to weigh the implications, the proposed merger is shaping up to be a defining test of how far consolidation can go in a media industry already in flux.
