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Video piracy boosts fortunes of TV shows

 
A double-decker bus is popular for sightseeing in South Beach.
A double-decker bus is popular for sightseeing in South Beach.
Published Aug. 16, 2013

THE WEEK THAT WAS

WINNER: Florida tourism

More than 23 million tourists came to the state between April and June, the largest second-quarter total in Florida's history.

LOSER: SeaWorld Entertainment

Second-quarter attendance at its 11 theme parks was down 9%, leading to a 3% drop in revenue.

The people behind HBO's Game of Thrones, reportedly the most-pirated show on the Internet, seem surprisingly unworried about piracy. Jeff Bewkes, CEO of Time Warner, which owns HBO, called the widespread theft "better than an Emmy." From a business standpoint, he may actually be right. According to a Wall Street Journal analysis, roughly 11 million HBO subscribers watch Game of Thrones legally, and 3.7 million to 4.2 million pirate it online. Bewkes credited that gigantic audience for a wave of new subscriptions. There's also evidence to suggest that piracy has contributed to the show's strong DVD sales; its first season was the bestselling TV DVD of 2012. The Big Bang Theory also sold well — and it's the Internet's third-most-pirated TV show.

Washington Post