‘House of the Dragon’ is the most-pirated TV show released on torrent sites in 2022. The popular ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel dethroned ‘Wandavision’, which topped the chart in 2021, according to TorrentFreak.
Amazon’s ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ takes the second spot at a respectable distance.
The website said for several years the list was headed by ‘Game of Thrones’ but that reign came to an end in 2019 after the series ended.
This changing of the guard made room for two Disney+ exclusives to step in. In 2020, ‘The Mandalorian’ was the most pirated show, followed by ‘Wandavision’ in 2021.
‘House of the Dragon’, a HBO show, beat fellow newcomer ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’.
What stands out most about the Top 10 is that it’s entirely made up of newcomers. This also means that ‘Rick and Morty’, a regular on the list for several years, has dropped off, the website stressed.
With the current streaming landscape being so fragmented, it is no surprise that streaming exclusives dominate the list today. Apparently, many people see piracy as an alternative to taking out yet another subscription, TorrentFreak said.
It’s worth noting that BitTorrent traffic only makes up a small portion of the piracy landscape. Most people use streaming sites and services nowadays, which generally do not report viewing stats.