The wait is finally almost over: on July 17, the seventh season of HBO’s award-winning fantasy series Game Of Thrones will premiere around the world. It promises to be the most action-packed season yet, with the Starks, Lannisters, Targaryens and White Walkers all marching towards their penultimate endgames. We have no idea who’s going to survive and we can’t wait to find out!
In Australia, the only “official” way to watch Game Of Thrones at the same time as the US is via Foxtel. However, there are a few options available that don’t require you to sign up to a costly pay TV subscription. In addition, Foxtel Now has new entry-level pricing to coincide with the return of the show. Here are all the ways to watch Game Of Thrones Season 7 in Australia.
Game Of Thrones On Pay TV
As we pointed out last year, only an idiot would sign up for Foxtel’s $46 Drama Combo just to watch Game Of Thrones. While the company has finally removed lock-in contracts (yay!), you’re still looking at a minimum of $92 for the full season, plus a $100 installation fee. If you have no interest in Foxtel’s other Pay TV content, this is obviously a dumb way to go.
Game Of Thrones On Foxtel Now
Foxtel Now (formerly Foxtel Play) is Foxtel’s revamped on-demand streaming service. Previously, you needed to spend at least $45 per month to access Game Of Thrones this way, which worked out to around $112 for the full season run. Thankfully, the show is now available in the entry-level Pop pack for $15 a month. Because this season has a shorter episode count (seven instead of ten), you should be able to watch the whole thing for just $30. As an added bonus, it will also stream in HD for the first time (albeit 720p).
Update: For a limited time, Foxtel is providing new customers with a complimentary three-month pass to Foxtel Now Pop – which means you can watch Game Of Thrones season 7 for free! Details here.
Game Of Thrones On HBO Now
HBO Now is a Netflix-style streaming service that is not currently available in Australia. However, it’s technically possible to scam your way in using an Apple TV media player, a VPN service and a fake US iTunes account.
The service comes with a 30-day free trial and then costs $14.99 per month. Just be mindful that the legalities of geo-blocking circumvention are a bit murky.
Game Of Thrones On iTunes / Google Play
Foxtel’s exclusive rights to Game Of Thrones only last for the duration of the season’s run. After that, it becomes available to rent or purchase digitally from Google Play and iTunes. If pricing is the same as last year, you can expect to pay $27.99 for the full season in standard definition, or $32.99 in high definition.
The downside to this method is that you’ll need to wait until the final episode airs. On the plus side, you can then binge-watch the whole thing in one go and you’ll have (more-or-less) permanent copies.
Game Of Thrones On DVD / Blu-ray
They say physical media is dead – we beg to differ. The Blu-ray release of Game Of Thrones always has a superb transfer, offering the very best audio and video quality on the market. Plus, you get exclusive special features and dinky packaging to put on your shelf. The only downside is the wait: you’re looking at around ten months after the final episode airs, which is a long time to avoid spoilers!
Game Of Thrones Torrents
Rest assured, every episode of Game Of Thrones will be appearing on imitations of The Pirate Bay, Kickass Torrents and various piracy streaming sites. There’s no stopping the spread of torrents: for every site that gets knocked offline or banned by the government, two seem to spring up in its place. And like Jon Snow, they often refuse to stay dead.
Accessing Game Of Thrones this way obviously isn’t legal, but we suspect it’s what most non-Foxtel customers will end up doing. Many will justify the decision by either purchasing the Blu-ray at a later date or complaining that the availability options are too limited. (This is an unconvincing argument when you consider that most other markets are in the same boat. For example, if you want Game Of Thrones in the US, you need to subscribe to HBO; it’s no different to Australia’s Foxtel situation.)
With Foxtel and HBO stepping up the war on piracy – and our own government blocking websites at the behest of rights holders – you can expect your naughty downloads to be scrutinised more than ever. Proceed with caution.
Comments
36 responses to “How To Watch Game Of Thrones Season 7 In Australia (Legally)”
No Kodi mention?
Kodi is a media centre, not a piracy application; it’s third party add ons that enable piracy. Kodi’s copping a lot of heat lately, and it’s a great tool as a media centre… so please don’t promote it as a piracy tool!
“legally”
Yeah – we need a separate article listing all the ways that people will ACTUALLY be watching GoT in Australia.
Yeah no. That’s the last thing we need, a page dedicated to people either too stupid to know what they are doing is wrong, or too opinionated to believe whatever their reasons, they are justified in breaking the law. What next robbing someone because they had a pizza and you were hungry and too poor to buy one
Yeah that’s a totally logical conclusion, great job!
I myself can attest that I’ve graduated from piracy to snatching handbags from old ladies. It’s a natural evolution.
Murdoch paid troll
or just a mature adult (who hates Murdoch as much as the next guy) who now also realises all the old moronic justifications for piracy are all gone. if you dont want to support Murdoch thats great just wait eight weeks and buy it off itunes. Simples. Pirates have that choice but funny enough they keep complaining about Murdoch and pirate it anyway, Murdoch only has something to do with that when you fail to choose other options.
Some people pirate because they want to, everything else is an excuse.
Well you know. I used to buy GoT on Itunes and the episodes would be avalible to download immediately after the episode had aired which i thought was fair. But then came along this wonderful company called foxtel who bought the exclusive rights to GoT and now you have to wait till the end of the season till you can download any episode.
Foxtel wants to be a prick to me? Ill be a prick back and use HBOgo, Because that way im still paying for GoT, And fucking over foxtel at the same time. win win.
… while breaking the terms of HBO’s terms and conditions. And technical VPN’s are quite legal in some senses either. I doubt Foxtel has it in for you but stupidly protecting it business interests. I guess they figured its been decades since anyone has said anything positive about them so, er um, in for a penny, in for a pound.
its not like a 24 week season, the most you have to wait is 10 weeks. (even shorter now) thats the hilarious part that is no time at all.
So you’re saying our options are:
1. Support Murdoch’s monopoly as Australia’s sole provider of Cable/Satellite TV via use of exclusive distribution agreements (which one could argue is an anticompetitive practice).
2. Wait months to view the show.
3. Break the “law” and bypass Murdochs monopoly to view the show within a reasonable timeframe of its release, then purchase it legitimately through another medium later when it becomes available without supporting anticompetitive practices.
Yeah… I know which one I’m going to be choosing.
Plenty of commentators agree that it’s legal for Australians to get around geoblocking, such as by use of a VPN, so long as you are still paying for the service.
Whether this might breach a particular company’s terms of service is another matter, but that’s a matter between the consumer and provider and contractural issue at best; the worst penalty of which would be for that company to cease providing you with that particular service should they discover what you’re doing and disapprove.
Then why mention Torrents?
Apparently the Foxtel 3 month trial expired, near 2 weeks ago.. Not sure why it was even mentioned here.
It’s even weirder since it’s marked as an “Update” when the dealhacker page also has an “Update” saying it has expired 🙂
I look forward to my yearly dose (or is that overdose) of “OMG foxtel is evil, Foxtel is too expansive, so therefore I am allowed and justified in pirating this”. Followed by, when asked, why don’t they just wait, the reply is, “OMG spoilers” making spoilers a justified reason for piracy. Wish they would just cut to the chase and say ‘I pirate because I can’. At least then they would be honest thieves. Hehe. Funny and true.
I pay for Netflix because it is priced fairly, is good quality, available on all my devices, and has a good selection of content.
I pay for Crunchyroll because it is priced fairly, is good quality, available on all my devices,and has a good selection of content.
I still stream (pirate) anime because even though Crunchyroll “has” a show I can’t watch it because I’m in Australia.
I will stream GoT because Foxtel is not priced fairly, isn’t available on all my devices and has worse quality than the pirated version.
I’m happy to pay for stuff, but I’m not happy to pay for an intentionally downgraded experience or jump through unnecessary hoops, contracts, or region blocks
The problem with the prices fairly argument is that what people think they are justified in paying sometimes has no grasp on reality, or who pays so you can save a few bucks. See $2 milk at supermarket, Spotify, G2a games. Comparing Netflix to Foxtel is flawed because it doesn’t have the same overheards or pay the same taxes etc.
I personally think Foxtel is a bit too much, and would rather give my money to any one else other than Murdoch but still doesn’t justify pirating something.
Netflix do have to charge GST and pay local taxes as of July 2017.
The pricing of the services like Netflix and Spotify has very little to do with taxes. Foxtel price gouges, plain and simple. The organisation purchases exclusive content at insane prices to secure it and then holds consumers in Australia hostage (GoT, Formula1, AFL, not offering a Sport only service etc). The problem for Foxtel is their business model is aging and aging fast. There’s only so much they can do, so much content they can hold onto before the business ultimately fails to compete.
The sooner the service in its current state disappears or changes to have a more modern in-touch pricing model the better it will be for the Australia consumer.
I forgot to mention the part where we had a legit Foxtel subscription for one season and still pirated it because the pirate was 1. Higher Quality, and 2. Able to be watched at any time. For Foxtel you had to use their stupid recorder and watch it after the episode finished.
And you could only watch it on that their box
HBO Go & HBO Now are both around the same price as Netflix, are available on a bunch of devices, and offer the content at a good quality. The problem is that due to Foxtel’s bullshit exclusive rights to HBO content, they’re not willing to make either of those platforms available in Australia. At the end of the day I’d be more than happy to justify spending $15-20 per month for HBO directly but Foxtel’s greed is what’s stopping me from being able to do so. On this grounding I refuse to pay any money to Foxtel on principle. The market for torrents in Australia is crying for a solution but the key people in charge aren’t willing to come to the table to offer what the market wants.
yes but the people who are complaining about Foxtel and torrenting their shows are just making Foxtel’s flimsy legal stance even more stronger, which just consolidates their power to (believe) they can do whatever the hell they want.
So the pirates arent doing anything positive or making a point. They are making Foxtel’s point for them by their own actions. hilarious.
You’re missing the point. The exclusive distribution agreements are the issue. If Foxtel was forced to price competitively against other companies for the content it offers, as cable TV providers do in the US, the prices would be somewhat lower. The issue is, to watch almost any show in a timely manner of its release internationally, Foxtel has the legal monopoly. There are no other options and Foxtel knows this when they plan their pricing schemes. All their potential competitors (Netflix, etc) are hamstrung in Australia by these agreements.
Bottom line, if the government is really interested in combating piracy, there’s only one thing they need to ban, and that is exclusive distribution agreements. Do that, and piracy figures will plummet REALLY fast.
Exactly this. I actually use my parents foxtel for shows like Game of Thrones because my dad loves it as much as I do so it’s easier to just watch it with him every week rather than downloading it myself. For a lot of other shows that Foxtel owns rights for though (Suits or the CW DC shows for example), it’s horrible trying to watch it on Foxtel.
I can’t understand how anyone defends them charging so much for a 480p version of a show which is then edited down to fit more ads… Like I said I even have access to Foxtel for free and I’d still rather pirate shows like Suits because (shockingly) in 2017 I expect HD and to actually see the full episodes of shows I’m watching rather than just the bits Foxtel lets me watch between their commercials.
I’d be much happier to pay for a Foxtel subscription myself if they gave half the value/quality a streaming service like Netflix or even Stan do.
Oh it’s alright, now it’s 720p on Now /s.
Thanks for reminding me of the Foxtel edits. Friend had legit Foxtel trial and we tried watching..
We put up with the shit quality and got through to the end of the episode which ended in probably the most tragic death in the series – only for the sombre music at the end to be completed drowned out by an upbeat presenter and loud music showcasing some other show. Completely ruined the mood and we pirated the rest of the series despite having access to legit copies.
I don’t agree with stealing the show, but if I was very into it I’d torrent it because fuck giving Murdoch money for his bloated shitty service. I will buy a boxed set or stream after it airs (which is what I normally do with GoT due to not being a mega fan) and would do the same thing if the show was my jam because I can have my cake and eat it without a side serving of Foxtel/News Corp.
Dude, SO hilarious, right? LOL
Go on eBay buy a Kodi box best thing I ever did trust me
Has anyone tried Foxtel Now? I might be inclined to give it a go if it’s not complete garbage
Tried it. It’s basically Foxtel except it uses your bandwidth, has lower resolution (capped at 720p unlike actual Foxtel, which offers 1080p, and most streaming services which offer 4k) and less channels. Unlike Netflix and the like, it’s not on-demand access to the entire library. You’re still stuck watching it according to their broadcast schedule, with each episode only being available during a certain window then it’s gone. It’s okay if you don’t mind overpaying to watch the latest couple of episodes of something. Even the IQ Box is better because that way you can at least record the shows for a binge-watching session later. Personally, I’d invest in a VPN and stick to the US streaming services. Better value for money and you always have the option of binge-watching, just so long as you’re smart about doing it.
Pirating against Murdoch a crime your kidding me. Ignore the Murdoch trolls he deserves way more than pirating.
Watching people with questionable morals justifying their piracy. Always entertaining.
As opposed to the clear morality of Murdochs pricing scheme based on the principle that he’s the only game in town that can deliver within a reasonable timeframe thanks to his exclusive distribution agreements with HBO and other such networks for the Australian market?
Careful not to cut yourself on that edge. Gotta stick to the “man”. Entertainment is not a right, it is a privilege you pay for.
Y’know… fine. I’ll actually put down the $15/month for Foxtel now this year. It sure as hell ain’t Netflix and Murdoch – well I’m looking forward to reading his eulogy… but $15 a month for a couple of months is good enough.