Winter is Coming, and I have no HBO!

April 11, 2011 10:10 AM

Please help me find a way to watch the upcoming Game of Thrones miniseries on HBO that starts this week, without having to actually subscribe to HBO.

I don't have HBO, and none of my friends who do have HBO like watching fantasy series.

Does anyone know whether Game of Thrones going to be up on hulu.com or hbo.com or some other site, anytime soon? Or am I going to have to wait a year or more for it to come out on netflix?

I'm not very tech-savvy, but if you know of any other sites that might post each episode soon after it airs, I'd be much obliged. Thanks!

posted by egeanin to media & arts (14 answers total)

There is no legal way to watch any HBO content except paying for HBO, or waiting for it to come out on DVD. In fact, right now, there isn't even any HBO content on Netflix streaming, period. Yes, this is annoying; no, there is no way around it legally.
posted by Tomorrowful at 10:13 AM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

This was pretty well answered here, in that no, HBO doesn't do the hulu thing. They WANT you to subscribe and/or wait and buy the DVDs.
posted by GaelFC at 10:14 AM on April 11, 2011

If your not against copyright infringement torrents are the only way unless you want to wait.
(My friends have hbo, but we still torrent them...just easier)
posted by handbanana at 10:15 AM on April 11, 2011

Have you tried calling your cable company and asking about specials? I called Comcast this week and got HBO for free for 3 months and then $10/month after that if I choose to keep it. I'm sure they have some kind of deal...
posted by Raichle at 10:16 AM on April 11, 2011

There are more than a few illegal ways to watch it (streamed) as it is happening. If you want to watch it the next day, there are even more options (torrent, usenet, icefilms / megaupload, etc).

Given your stated lack of tech savvy, I'd probably go with the streamed approach. I don't know the latest websites for that stuff though.... maybe someone else can indicate what they use?
posted by maxpower at 10:17 AM on April 11, 2011

GaelFC: sorry, I just searched ask.me questions, I didn't think to search metafilter too.

Good to know that HBO never streams elsewhere. I'll call my cable company and try to bargain with them. Thanks!
posted by egeanin at 10:17 AM on April 11, 2011

You can just order it and then cancel. You pay pro-rated, so if you only keep it for 3 days you only pay 3 days' worth. At least, that's how it worked at one point--maybe your cable provider will make you agree to a certain amount of time.

But ask. I'd call and say something like "I really want to try HBO, but my husband/wife thinks it's too expensive--do you have any trials or deals going on?" and if they say no: "Well maybe I'll get it anyway--what happens if I want to cancel it, do I have to pay for the whole month?"

Like, you really want it, and if it were up to you you'd have it forever, but you're scared of paying too much so they'll want to reassure you that you should just sign up this second without waiting to asking your spouse because it's so easy to cancel. Otherwise, they can be kind of cagey about the pro-rating.
posted by thebazilist at 10:21 AM on April 11, 2011

You also might check and see if any friendly bars near you have HBO and are willing to show it on their TVs; I know there's a bar near me that has HBO, and shows True Blood episodes on their TV when they first air.
posted by Greg Nog at 10:30 AM on April 11, 2011

I'd call and say something like "I really want to try HBO, but my husband/wife thinks it's too expensive--do you have any trials or deals going on?" and if they say no: "Well maybe I'll get it anyway--what happens if I want to cancel it, do I have to pay for the whole month?"

You say "Okay, thank you very much", and end the call. And then call back and do it again, talking to someone new. You'll get a promo.

If you prefer not to try to haggle on the phone (like me) you can also use their livechat system. Whichever way you do it, the key is to be super nice.
posted by inigo2 at 11:36 AM on April 11, 2011

Do you know anyone who still has a cassette VCR and some tapes? It would be easy to setup to record automatically. An especially kind friend could let you record the series.
posted by fifilaru at 12:50 PM on April 11, 2011

When Rome was on I paid my friends $50 for the 5 months of service I needed. They added it and either I came over every Sunday night and watched, or they DVR'ed it and I watched later.
posted by sbutler at 3:04 PM on April 11, 2011

There is no way for me to get the show legally, at all, since I am in a different country. I find it best to torrent the show when it is out (usually 3 minutes after it airs) and I put the DVD on wishlist/pre-buy to offset my moral mis-givings. This way I get to watch it when it is out, and the studio gets my cash to encourage them to make more of the shows I like.

Eventually, they will catch up with technology, and realise that everyone's money is just as good, and quit stupid region-blocking.
posted by lundman at 6:49 PM on April 11, 2011

I'm not sure I follow. How is HBO region blocking GoT? Or are you saying that "can't get HBO here" is the same as region blocking?
posted by Justinian at 7:48 PM on April 11, 2011

Yeah, I pretty much am. They should sell each episode on the web, say for $2 or whatever the going rate is, internationally. This will happen, just not for a few years. Sort of works now, just my money will reach them delayed :)
posted by lundman at 3:03 AM on April 12, 2011