Will Sky's Neon stop Kiwi Game of Thrones fans illegally downloading?

  • Breaking
  • 09/04/2015

Sky has launched streaming service Neon partially in an effort to stop fans from illegally downloading popular shows like Game of Thrones.

Will it work? It's certainly a step in the right direction, but it's far from a knockout blow.

The problem local broadcasters face with piracy of shows such as Game of Thrones is downloading it illegally is generally faster and easier than using a legal method, it often provides a superior product and of course it's much cheaper.

Game of Thrones will be streamed via Neon from 8:30pm New Zealand time on Monday, just hours after it premieres on HBO at Sunday, 9pm PT in the US.

Just hours after - but hours nonetheless, which for some uber fans may be unbearable.

It will be streamed in SD only, depriving viewers of the full glory of the show's gorgeous cinematography and spectacular visual effects in full HD. Sky says they're working hard to provide HD streaming as soon as possible, but it won't be here in time for Monday's season five premiere.

But it's still by far the best and cheapest option yet for Kiwis wanting to see the show legally. The service costs $20 per month, rather than the much pricier Sky subscription with Soho channel add-on.

The cheapness will surely persuade some pirates to give up their dastardly ways and funnel some money back toward the providers of TV content they love so dearly.

Game of Thrones is the most pirated TV show on the planet. In 2014 alone episodes were downloaded via torrent networks a staggering 48 million times, a number made up partly by New Zealanders.

Will Neon's offering make a difference? We'll find out next week, when the best show on TV is finally back on TV.

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source: newshub archive