HBO tops among cable networks whose content is illegally shared

Despite efforts to make its content as available as possible--to viewing customers of course--on as many platforms as possible, HBO tops the list of cable networks whose content is consistently pirated, according to a breakdown by CEG TEK International.

The research firm found that more than 3.7 million users worldwide illegally shared TV shows daily via BitTorrent's peer-to-peer file-sharing network. Of those shares, HBO led the way by far with 381,953 worldwide users pirating its programs and 38,330 in the U.S. The most pirated show, probably not surprisingly, was Game of Thrones, which attracted the attention of 289,310 file sharers.

AMC, which came in second of all networks, had two shows attracting pirates in the six figure range, including Breaking Bad (112,221) and The Walking Dead (140,960). No other network in the top 10--FX, Showtime, History, Comedy Central, Starz, A&E, USA or BBC America--came close to the top two.

CBS was tops among broadcasters with 619,157 peer-to-peer users illegally sharing shows and Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), with House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, led OTT providers with 87,709 shares.

HBO last week created waves in the cable and OTT space by announcing an exclusive programming relationship with Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). It's also been a leader in the connected TV space via its HBO GO  application which makes its content available across multiple platforms for subscribers.

For more:
- CEG TEK has this report

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