How to watch season 8 of Game of Thrones in your country
Game of Thrones, which produced no new episodes in 2018, may have lost its #1 position as the most-pirated TV show, but that is expected to change once season 8 comes out in April. Why is it so popular to watch Game of Thrones illegally?
It mostly has to do with availability. The show’s fans have expressed their disappointment that they can only access the show through costly TV subscriptions. In other cases, people have complained about the lack of an on-demand subscription service in their country altogether.
HBO has attempted to fight against piracy in the past, by sending a letter to ISPs listing the IP addresses of pirates. Warning notices are known to be ineffective because, without a real threat or consequences, pirates continue to do their deed.
Which country do you live in?
USA
Consider yourself fortunate. There are more than enough options for watching Game of Thrones legally. One of the most popular is HBO Now, which is an on-demand streaming service and costs $14.99 per month. Besides that, Hulu and Amazon Prime both have $14.99 HBO add-ons, which makes it convenient for people that already have one these streaming services.
UK
In the United Kingdom, Game of Thrones is available through NOW TV, with an Entertainment channel subscription, which costs £7.99 per month. The service provides Game of Thrones on-demand on its streaming box or online.
AUSTRALIA
Foxtel has launched a similar on-demand service called Foxtel Now. The essential pack which grants access for watching Game of Thrones is priced at $25 per month. Foxtel Now as of now is supported by most popular devices like iOS, Android, browsers — Safari, Chrome and even PlayStation 4.
SPAIN
HBO Espana is an on-demand streaming service and costs €7.99 per month. There’s also a month-long free trial, which should last for the final 6 episodes as they will come out throughout a 1 month period.
FRANCE
Game of Thrones is available on OCS, or previously known as Orange Cinéma Séries, with subscriptions starting from €9.99-a-month OCS broadcasts American TV to France a few days after the US release with added French subtitles.
NORWAY, SWEDEN, FINLAND, DENMARK
In 2012 HBO launched experimental HBO Nordic platform, a younger relative to the US HBO Now platform. HBO Nordic offers a Subscription Video-On-Demand Service. No cable subscription is required, and it costs 99 kr/month.
INDIA
In India, Game of Thrones is available through Hotstar after it airs in the US. The service costs 199 ₹ per month. It can’t stream on more than 1 simultaneously device though.
OTHER COUNTRIES
Here comes the tricky part. You’ll need to use a VPN service, which changes your real IP address to a different one in a country of your choice so you can bypass geo-restrictions for streaming services. The best option for hardcore GoT fans should be connecting to a USA server, so you could grab the HBO Now free trial and watch live side by side with fellow Americans.
Which VPN to choose you might ask? The best options are:
- Surfshark. Won the best newcomer award last year. They are considered to be a reliable and one of the cheaper options in the market, especially with the DEAL that they got going now, which makes it $1.99/month.
- NordVPN. Ranked as one of the best providers there are overall by major review sites. Priced at $2.99/month, they offer a strong encryption system that manages to bypass geo-restrictions with ease.
- ExpressVPN. Considered to be a great option for most cases. Successfully unlocks streaming services, however currently priced at $8.32/month, this makes it an expensive option for most people.
Other benefits of a VPN:
- Enhanced security. When you connect to the network through a VPN, the data is kept secure and encrypted.
- Online anonymity. Through a VPN you can browse the web in complete anonymity.
- Unblock websites & bypass filters. VPNs are great for accessing blocked websites or for bypassing Internet filters.
So get ready for season 8, as the winter is coming.
