American Ambassador Lectures Aussies On Game of Thrones Theft

[flarty]

Ahhh Malta, so many great things Malta has given the world. Now this awesome piece of piracy legislation on top of the oldest man made structures in the world, and the Popeye the sailor man village.

Not sure if sincerity or sarcasm. There are a lot of messed up laws here but also a lot of pretty decent ones. The Swedes have the whole piracy thing down as well (hence why Pirate Bay has been hard to shift for so long) as long as they all stay within reasonable bounds. For example you can't download something then slap it on a disc and try to sell it, but if it's for personal usage it's considered ok.

I'm not to familiar with your laws but i been on holiday there and did really enjoy it. I just found it funny as when booking the holiday, one article i read had the popeye village and the Megalithic Temples of Malta (had to google the name sorry) listed side by side as attractions.

Its like someone shouting we have history to the popeye the sailor man theme. To be fair it was that thought that persuaded me to book the holiday.

 

[amuasyeas]

Deal with it you noseless half man.

 

[ex2katana]

Yeah, except it's not really available from legitimate sources even here in America. I think The Oatmeal put it best:

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones

I went through basically the same series of websites when Game of Thrones first started. About the only place you can legitimately buy it is through HBO GO. Except you need cable...and then HBO...then HBO GO. I don't think I really want to pay $90+ dollars just for one show. I get by just fine without cable, thanks.

As it comes out, I watch pirated versions online. I still buy the DVDs though, because I legitimately want to support the creators of something I enjoy and encourage other companies to adapt the other things I love.

 

[Jake Lewis Clayton]

Oh and for any Americans that's about $56 a month.

 

[MrHide-Patten]

We're all dedcended from convicts, what do you expect?

 

[KeyMaster45]

apparently the american ambassador cares more about it being pirated than hbo does about its own show haha

HBO is actually quite notorious for harassing people that torrent their programming. They grab IP addresses from the swarms and then threaten ISPs to get customer information and then fire off C&D letters. Make no mistake, HBO cares alot that people are pirating their shows. That director you quoted even came out the next day and back peddled on his statement.

 

[Doom972]

I can't help but feel there's more to the piracy than just not wanting to wait a few hours. Like here I'd have to switch to a whole new cable provider, get a new box, etc just to watch it. It's not available on demand at all. Any Australians here know what's what? Is it the same over there? Or are you guys just impatient?

It's the same problem here in Israel. We have two major TV service providers, and only one of them has Game of Thrones. Do they expect people to switch service provider just so that HBO can have exclusive deals?

As for buying it on DVD/Blu-Ray: Most people will watch an episode once or twice. That doesn't justify buying it.

If HBO want to seriously reduce piracy, they should make it available on as many TV service providers as possible, and maybe make popular shows like GoT available online with ads globally, as Comedy Central does.

 

[Petromir]

If there's no-way to get something then piracy is acceptable, but that really does mean no way. Not being able to afford it isn't an excuse that washes. In the case of many high profile shows there's often a legal paid for D/L around air date.

 

[ninjaRiv]

I can't help but feel there's more to the piracy than just not wanting to wait a few hours. Like here I'd have to switch to a whole new cable provider, get a new box, etc just to watch it. It's not available on demand at all. Any Australians here know what's what? Is it the same over there? Or are you guys just impatient?

It's the same problem here in Israel. We have two major TV service providers, and only one of them has Game of Thrones. Do they expect people to switch service provider just so that HBO can have exclusive deals?

As for buying it on DVD/Blu-Ray: Most people will watch an episode once or twice. That doesn't justify buying it.

If HBO want to seriously reduce piracy, they should make it available on as many TV service providers as possible, and maybe make popular shows like GoT available online with ads globally, as Comedy Central does.

It's crazy, righjt? It's like HBO hate viewers.

The DVD box sets are over priced to the point where it's sad, too. I'm against piracy for the most part but HBO has it coming.

 

[ninjaRiv]

Oh, hey, nobody posted this yet? Cool.

EDIT: Embed was not cool. Here's a link http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones

 

[Irridium]

So... is Game of Thrones offered only through cable providers, or are there streaming services available there? Are there DVD's available for purchase? Are they priced reasonably or do they jack up the price to absurd amounts like with video games?

Just like to get some context. Because if the only way to watch Game of Thrones in Australia is to sign up with a cable service (that might suck, or not. No idea, feel free to tell me if they do/don't) and catch it when it's on and nowhere else... then know shit they pirate it a lot.

 

[tkioz]

What legitimate service? Foxtel? Austar? other crappy PayTV providers? When it's on-demand at a reasonable price ($3AU per episode) then he can *****, not until then.

Seriously Mr. Ambassador, how about you have a talk to your companies that promote a culture of piracy here in Australia by charging us between two and four times the price for digital goods, huh? How about that.

 

[suitepee7]

Question:
If i was to pirate Game of Thrones during it's run on TV, because, in this hypothetical situation, I have no way of watching the series on TV, and then bought the DVD box, where would I stand, as far as karma, morality etc, is concerned?

I know that pirating is against the law, but if I go out of my way to get my money to the creators of the series, as fast as is humanly possible, by buying the DVDs as soon as they hit the market, would that make up for "pirating" the series?


DISCLAIMER: I do not endorse pirating, nor do I torrent anything. I am talking about a hypothetical scenario.

morals are entirely subjective. i put it to you, where do you think you morally stand? and after you answer, i can respond with "and that's where you morally stand". personally, i'd say it's fine. you are contributing to sales. the issue is that companies often renew series based on initial viewing figures, as well as post-release DVD sales, so from a many company standpoints you are still in the wrong, because piracy is always technically wrong.

also, this guy:

Oh, hey, nobody posted this yet? Cool.

EDIT: Embed was not cool. Here's a link http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones

 

[ninjaRiv]

Question:
If i was to pirate Game of Thrones during it's run on TV, because, in this hypothetical situation, I have no way of watching the series on TV, and then bought the DVD box, where would I stand, as far as karma, morality etc, is concerned?

I know that pirating is against the law, but if I go out of my way to get my money to the creators of the series, as fast as is humanly possible, by buying the DVDs as soon as they hit the market, would that make up for "pirating" the series?


DISCLAIMER: I do not endorse pirating, nor do I torrent anything. I am talking about a hypothetical scenario.

morals are entirely subjective. i put it to you, where do you think you morally stand? and after you answer, i can respond with "and that's where you morally stand". personally, i'd say it's fine. you are contributing to sales. the issue is that companies often renew series based on initial viewing figures, as well as post-release DVD sales, so from a many company standpoints you are still in the wrong, because piracy is always technically wrong.

also, this guy:

Oh, hey, nobody posted this yet? Cool.

EDIT: Embed was not cool. Here's a link http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones

I should probably mention that while I understand pirating a show like Game of Thrones because of the shitty way HBO release it, I actually save up for and buy the DVD box set.

 

[RandV80]

"Stealing is stealing"

Sure, if you don't care about definitions.

"and if people keep on torrenting quality content then those poor Hollywood artists will have to go back to waiting tables and parking cars to make a living."

Yeah, they might even have to live like the middle class. We should all feel bad for them

Actually the vast vast majority of 'Hollywood artists' do make a living by waiting tables and parking cars. A few of them can make a career out of it, and fewer still get filthy stinking rich, but there's so many trying to get into the industry that most of probably lives below the poverty line, never mind middle class.

 

[RandV80]

So... is Game of Thrones offered only through cable providers, or are there streaming services available there? Are there DVD's available for purchase? Are they priced reasonably or do they jack up the price to absurd amounts like with video games?

Just like to get some context. Because if the only way to watch Game of Thrones in Australia is to sign up with a cable service (that might suck, or not. No idea, feel free to tell me if they do/don't) and catch it when it's on and nowhere else... then know shit they pirate it a lot.

HBO is kind of between a rock and a hard place here. They make their money through subscriptions, which ties them directly to the cable companies. To make their shows available digitally would harm their partnership with cable, and all the market research they've done suggests it would be a significant net loss to do so.

So while it isn't exactly the same it has a lot in common with a console maker looking to go with entirely digital sales. The benefits just aren't high enough to abandon retail sales yet.

 

[DugMachine]

I pay for HBO but if I couldn't catch it on Sunday I'll usually download it. I'd record it but my girlfriend records other shows.