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SO IT SEEMS that Game of Thrones fans really, really like watching the show illegally.

For the second year in a row, the HBO gold mine held onto its title as the most pirated show in recent months, according to torrent blog TorrentFreak.

Nearly as many viewers downloaded it on the file-sharing site BitTorrent as watch it on television – three times the amount garnered by several of the programmes further down TorrentFreak’s top 10 list.

The season three premiere was downloaded by a record-breaking 5.2 million people, showing a 25 per cent increase compared to last year.

When director David Petrarca was asked about the unprecedented piracy ratings earlier this year, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Petrarca said illegal downloads don’t matter because the show capitalises on ‘cultural buzz.’

“That’s how they survive,” Petrarca said.

The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother round out the TorrentFreak list’s top three, with 2.9 million and 2.85 million downloads, respectively.

Here’s the views per single episode.

Most downloaded tv shows on BitTorrent – Spring 2013

1. Game of Thrones Estimated downloads per episode: 5.2 million
2. The Big Bang Theory Estimated downloads: 2.9 million
3. How I Met Your Mother Estimated downloads: 2.85 million
4. The Walking Dead Estimated downloads: 2.7 million
5. Hannibal Estimated downloads: 2.1 million
6. Vikings Estimated downloads: 1.9 million
7. Arrow Estimated downloads: 1.85 million
8. The Vampire Diaries Estimated downloads: 1.8 million
9. Modern Family Estimated downloads: 1.75 million
10. Revenge Estimated downloads: 1.7 million

Play: The unofficial Game of Thrones drinking* game >

Read: 7 behind-the-scenes reasons to love Game of Thrones >