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Game of clones: New series of Game Of Thrones is blamed for a 45% surge in Internet piracy

The return of Game of Thrones has sparked a surge in internet piracy with fans making more than 100,000 illegal downloads per day.

More than seven million episodes from seasons one to four were illegally downloaded between February and April this year as fans of the hit HBO show caught up or re-capped before its eagerly-return on Sky Atlantic on Sunday night.

Figures by anti-piracy and security firm Irdeto revealed overall illegal downloading of show is up 45 per cent year-on-year, jumping from 4.9 million for the same two-month period in 2014.

Lack of access for global audiences is used as a defence of pirates, as many of their favourite films and shows that debut in the US are delayed by weeks or months.

So to make it easier for people to watch legally, HBO announced in March that the forthcoming season will air across 170 countries at the same time.

This week the cable network also launched a new internet streaming service, HBO Now, in an attempt to curb piracy and recapture revenue, although it is only available in the US.

'Piracy is a tidal wave that cannot be controlled, only managed,' said Irdeto in its report.

'But if people want to continue to have great TV shows like Game of Thrones, business models need to be protected.'