Online piracy has become a focal point for discussion in 2012. SOPA garnered widespread controversy and the shutdown of popular content hub Megavideo created cries of censorship, but who is really to blame? It seems to be Hollywood’s inability to distribute content that drives those who are technically savvy enough to online piracy. With Redbox, Netflix, OnDemand, and online streaming all being simple and immediate forms of content distribution, why is it that we still are unable to watch our favorite programs when we want to watch them. For example, if one were to want to watch HBO’s critically acclaimed series you could just log onto Netflix to watch it, right? wrong. If you were to search Netflix for it, you would be met with a message that says “DVD and Blu Ray availability date unknown”.
So you move onto to iTunes or Amazon Video, neither of which have any episodes available for purchase. Maybe Hulu Plus? Unfortunately Hulu redirects you to HBO.com which urges you to add HBO to your cable subscription, which is something you don’t necessarily need, nor want. Game of Thrones is one of many shows that introduce consumers to such a dilemma. It is unclear to me why we can’t pay one subscription fee, to Netflix or Hulu, and have access to content we want. It is unreasonable and quite frankly inexcusable that almost a year after the first season of Game of Thrones airs, the only way to for people to watch it legally is to subscribe monthly to HBO. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like if there were a service or means to readily obtain content (with reasonable restrictions) I would gladly subscribe to it, but until that day I will continue to pay my monthly cable bill which includes HBO.