Game of Thrones viewing parties are pretty common, but it seems in an effort to cut down as much piracy as possible, HBO has recently sent a cease and desist letter to a bar called Videology that is based in Brooklyn. The bar has held numerous viewing parties in the past but this is the first time they’ve been told to stop.Videology has confirmed that they will comply with the letter, and in a statement issued by HBO, “As a pay subscription service, HBO should not be made available in public establishments. When it does happen, it is of particular concern when there is an attempt to profit off the programming. This is nothing new as we have taken such actions for well over a decade.”
While HBO’s statement is true and that this is probably not the first such letter they’ve sent out, it seems that they are failing to understand what a big deal these viewing parties are. It creates a sense of community and lets everyone share in the shocking moments together, like the Red Wedding and the fight between The Mountain and The Viper, both of which managed to elicit plenty of reactions from viewers all over the world.
This cease and desist letter also follow’s HBO’s renewed attempts at curbing Game of Thrones piracy which has gotten out of hand as it was the most pirated TV show of 2013 and 2014. Recently the network also sent similar warnings to Periscope, a live video streaming service owned by Twitter where users were found to be streaming episodes live.
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