HBO Unhappy About Periscope Users Broadcasting Game of Thrones: Reports

When the first episode of the new season of Game of Thrones aired on Sunday night in the US, dozens of users of the popular new livestreaming app Periscope decided to broadcast the show to the world. Twitter took note though, and according to Mashable, Twitter has been closing the accounts of people who broadcasted the show.

Periscope's terms of service clearly state the the broadcasting of copyrighted work is not permitted, and that it will respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement by removing the content, and terminate the user's account if necessary.

This kind of reactive behaviour left HBO unhappy though. According to a report, aside from sending take-down notices, HBO also issued a statement, where it says: "In general, we feel developers should have tools which proactively prevent mass copyright infringement from occurring on their apps and not be solely reliant upon notifications."

HBO certainly has cause for complaint - the channel is airing the show simultaneously around the world for the first time, and it has also multiple methods for streaming the show online in select regions. HBO has even removed the requirement to have a HBO cable subscription to watch its digital service any more, and the company has not taken action against people sharing their HBO passwords with friends. The channel is in fact making all the right moves to make its content as easily accessible as possible, and to still be pirated must sting. The first four episodes of the season were leaked online one day before the air-date, and downloaded over a million times, according to TorrentFreak.

However, in that context, it's a little curious that HBO would be upset about the "dozens" of leaks on Periscope. However, it does also raise a question that Periscope needs to answer - with streaming becoming simpler than ever, how can it prevent piracy on its platform.