In the fight against piracy, HBO breaks tradition with a “whole new level” of caution.
HBO has decided not to send advance screeners for Game of Thrones season six to press, according to a new report.
The “content lockdown”, says Entertainment Weekly, affects all media globally, making the move a first for HBO.
“We’re not sending out press copies this year, anywhere in the world,” HBO programming president Michael Lombardo was quoted as saying.
“There will be no copies for review,” he added.
New seasons of Game of Thrones have broken a number of piracy records in the past, so a crackdown on the trend isn’t surprising.
However, it’s even more of an issue with Game of Thrones series six, as this is the first season to largely go beyond the books in terms of narrative.
“It’s painful for [showrunners] Dan and David [when leaks happen],” Lombardo said. “’Can I see your copy?’ These are things that happen. We talked about the upsides and downsides.”
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“Some of the press are fans who might be disappointed, but they’ll understand,” continued the HBO programming lead.
HBO boss Alan Bewkes once described the rampant Game of Thrones piracy as “better than any Emmy”, but it appears the company isn’t so keen anymore.
Have you ever pirated a TV show? Best not to let us know in the comments, we’d say.