If you want to watch Game of Thrones legally, how much does it cost per episode? Forget all of the garbage that comes bundled and just reckon the per episode Game of Thrones cost and, wow, it ain’t cheap.
In Australia for example, according to TorrentFreak, the least expensive cable TV package (Foxtel) that includes HBO sells for $490. Given that a Game of Thrones season includes 10 episode, the per episode cost is $49.
Of course, that minimum cable package runs for six months and includes internet access and lots of TV. But forget all of that crap, because we’re hear to steak.
That said, given that pretty much everything Game of Thrones begins or ends in America — Time Warner, HBO, George RR Martin — you’d think it would be cheaper here.
Think again.
The good people at TorrentFreak have again spun the numbers, though the results are just as depressing. Depending on where you live in the US, Game of Thrones costs as low as $45 per episode and up to $80 per episode.
Though the particulars vary somewhat by geography, the same cable + internet + HBO math applies.
Game of Numbers
While Game of Thrones is hugely popular, millions of fans aren’t paying to watch the show, at least not directly. Interestingly, HBO seems to be quite OK with that.
“We have the capacity to do whatever we want, when we choose to do it,” recently said Richard Pleper, HBO chief executive. “It’s just arithmetic. Right now, this is the best model.”
So, HBO can run its business however it wants and the way things are right now — some paying inflated cable prices and some paying nothing (ie piracy) — is the most profitable way.
Or, in other words, if you are paying anything for Game of Thrones you are paying too much…
What’s your take?
Via FastCompany