The first 4 episodes of ‘Game of Thrones’ season 5 leak online

By David Nield April 12, 2015

Game of Thrones Season 5

Well, that’s put something of a downer on the day for HBO: TorrentFreak is reporting that the first four episodes of the new Game of Thrones series are showing up on major torrenting sites. Season five premieres tonight (Sunday, April 12) in the U.S., but eager fans prepared to overlook copyright laws can get started as soon as they like.

The show already holds the title of the world’s most pirated television program, but the timing will hurt HBO, particular with the Web-only HBO Now service waiting in the wings. If company executives were hoping to stem the tide of piracy with their new service, it looks like they’re going to end up disappointed — hundreds of thousands of people downloaded the available episodes in the first few hours.

“The copies were first spotted on the private torrent tracker IPT, but they soon made their way to more public sites such as The Pirate Bay, RARBG, and KickassTorrents,” explains TorrentFreak’s Ernesto Van der Sar. “One source informs TF that the leak most likely originates from review copies sent to the press.” The leaked content is only in standard definition, however.

HBO hasn’t yet responded to the leak, but the company is unlikely to be pleased after so much carefully managed build-up to the new season and its new efforts to try and fight back against the pirates. The fact that the final six episodes remain unleaked will be little consolation.

It also gives viewers and fans a problem: Spoilers. If you want to wait to see what happens at the start of Game of Thrones season five then you might want to stay off the Internet for the rest of the day.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Contributor

Dave is a freelance journalist from Manchester in the north-west of England. He's been writing about technology since the…

Entertainment

7 most underrated Game of Thrones episodes ever

A woman stands across from a man in Game of Thrones.

Can you believe it's been four years since Game of Thrones concluded its legendary run? While we won't speak about the final season, Game of Thrones remains one of television's most successful shows, with a record 59 Primetime Emmy Awards. Game of Thrones was a "can't-miss" television show, meaning the audience had to tune into the live airing of an episode or risk seeing spoilers on the internet. In the social media age of television, it's rare for a show to have as much power and influence on pop culture as it did.

A select group is unequivocally regarded as the best episodes of Game of Thrones, including Blackwater, Hardhome, The Rains of Castamere (more commonly known as The Red Wedding episode), and The Winds of Winter. For this list, however, we selected the seven most underrated Game of Thrones episodes ever.
Lord Snow

Entertainment

The Idol season 1, episode 4 release date, time, channel, and plot

A man dances with a woman in The Idol.

With the recent conclusion of Succession, HBO now has a void in the coveted Sunday night slot. Enter The Idol, the next HBO drama series with aspirations of becoming a buzzworthy show. Lily-Rose Depp stars as Jocelyn, an aspiring pop star looking to become the world's top artist after a nervous breakdown ended her previous tour. While planning a comeback, Jocelyn meets Tedros, played by Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye, a self-help cult leader and nightclub owner who begins a tumultuous relationship with the singer.

Tesfaye co-created the series with Reza Fahim and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson. The Idol had a splashy debut at the 76th Cannes Film Festival, where it became a heated topic of discussion after critics panned the first two episodes. Yet, Levinson believes the attention will work in The Idol's favor, with the potential to become the "biggest show of the summer." Keep reading for information about the release date, time, channel, and plot for episode 4 of The Idol season 1.
When does episode 4 of The Idol season 1 release?

Entertainment

The Red Wedding at 10: How the groundbreaking episode changed Game of Thrones forever

Robb Stark's body with his direwolf's head in Game of Thrones.

The so-called Golden Age of Television reached its undeniable zenith during the 2010s. Shows like Mad Men, Veep, Breaking Bad, and Stranger Things took TV to new and exciting levels of visual and narrative quality. However, no show had more influence or acclaim throughout the 2010s than Game of Thrones. The HBO juggernaut became synonymous with prestige television, delivering a perfect mix of political intrigue, high fantasy, and sex that became irresistible for critics and audiences.

Game of Thrones wasn't an instant success; it was only in season 3 that the show became the must-see show on television. Two events helped the show achieve this elusive reputation. The first was Daenerys' sacking of Astapor in the fourth episode, And Now His Watch Has Ended. The second is, of course, the Red Wedding. The episode it was featured in, The Rains of Castamere, changed the series' course, altering the fate of multiple characters and radically shifting the power balance between the noble houses of Westeros. The groundbreaking episode showcased Game of Thrones operating at full strength, and, as a result, allowed audiences to truly understand what kind of show they were watching.
Game of Thrones sends its regards