Game of Thrones — the most pirated TV show in history — has premiered its seventh season last weekend on HBO. Because GOT is the most valuable titles for HBO and because the premier episode was made available online, people flocked to hbo.com which led to a massive bleeding on the company’s servers.
Without a way to see new episodes legally, unless you have an HBO Go subscription (or a cable subscription) we’re trying to answer our readers today: what’s the best way to watch GOT Season 7 for free, without breaking copyright laws? Here’s how.
Please note: this post does not contain any spoilers for the current or any previous seasons of Game of Thrones.
Watch Game of Thrones on HBO
HBO makes episodes available for free on their website. It’s not a secret. In fact, they’ve posted about it on their GOT Facebook page.
The catch is, the offer is only open to US residents who signup for a free 30-day trial. Which kinda sucks for anyone without a US IP address. But what if we’d tell you there’s a solution to our solution; an easy solution?
Use a VPN to locate yourself in the US
To take advantage of this offer you’d need to use a VPN to access HBO from a different location – one that will put youreself in the US. Do note that the free trial on HBO gives you complete access to the GOT series, but it will expire mid-season — in order to continue watching, just use a different email/cc to sign up for yet another trial.
The best options for a VPN that won’t lack speed and won’t break the bank for you are either ExpressVPN (where AddictiveTips readers get three months free on the yearly plan with that link) that will cost you $6.67 per month, or NordVPN (where a 2-year plan brings a huge 72% discount) which will only cost $3.29 per month.
Watch Game Of Thrones On Hulu (Paid)
As mentioned earlier, HBO isn’t big on sharing streaming rights for the show with other content providers. If the only reason you can’t legally watch Game of Thrones on HBO is because you can’t buy an HBO Go subscription in your country then consider using Hulu. The series won’t come with your usual Hulu subscription. Instead, you’ll need to purchase the $14.99 HBO package on top of your regular Hulu subscription. Hulu will offer a 1-month free trial of HBO Go, so again you can watch it up to mid-season, for free.
What’s Cost Effective?
Verdict: HBO Go subscription + a VPN
If you’re looking to buy an HBO Go subscription, do note that the only problems with this solution are regional restrictions – which can be bypassed easily by using a VPN that is fast and secure.
The other way: Once a season concludes, you can buy all episodes from iTunes or the Google Play Store. In both cases, an entire season will cost more than an HBO Go subscription and a VPN solution. If you’re not interested in any other titles HBO Go has to offer, you’re incredibly patient and can avoid spoilers until Season 7 ends, then buying it on iTunes or the Google Play Store isn’t a bad option.