No one can stay away from the Seven Kingdoms—even those who don't have HBO!
For that reason, Game of Thrones was the most pirated TV show of 2012, according to TorrentFreak's study. The fantasy drama beat out Dexter, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother and Breaking Bad to be the most illegally downloaded show of the past year.
According to TorrentFreak's study, airing delays and HBO's choice not to make Game of Thrones readily available online are the main reasons it tops the chart.
Other highly pirated shows include The Walking Dead, Homeland, House, Fringe and Revolution. The majority of all television show piracy, more than 80 percent, occurs outside the United States, according to the study.