Game of Thrones is verging on going beyond being a cultural phenomena and becoming iconic in TV history. The show has already won a ton of awards, broken more than a few ratings records, and has regularly shattered piracy numbers to become the most stolen show in the history of television three years running. HBO execs took the positive view that piracy only helps increase the show’s popularity, which will lead to more legal viewers, and it looks like they were right.
Now Guinness World Records have declared the Game of Thrones season five premiere to be the largest TV drama simulcast in history. The show made its debut in 173 countries at the same time, beating out former record holder CSI by two countries. Damn you, Albania and Vanuatu! You’re worse than Roose Bolton and Walder Frey.
Funny enough, it was as a result of the piracy that Game of Thrones won this record: HBO worked hard to make sure the show premiered on the same date in many countries so more people had the option to watch the show legally rather than download it. You may think big hit TV shows would get released around the world at the same time, but in truth other countries are often lucky to just be a season behind the U.S. – just another example of how responsive and fast moving the entertainment industry has been, and why Australians pirate everything.
If CSI decides they’re going to (*puts shades on*) demand trial by combat (*YEEAAAAHH*), I’m sure HBO will once again edge them out when the time comes for Game of Thrones season six to debut. There’s only another 23 countries to broadcast these shows in. Soon, the record will be held by whichever series won it just before rising oceans start swallowing countries. We will all look back at this record and say “I miss civilization and not dying of dysentery. Man, we were idiots back then. But we sure had some great TV.”
