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.
The Top 25 Game Of Thrones Posts
The wait is nearly over. the fifth season of Game of Thrones will screen on Australia's Foxtel network in under 48 hours. To prime yourself for this quasi-historic occasion, we've assembled the best Westeros-flavoured articles from across Lifehacker and the Allure Media network. Let the feast begin!
Comments
Torrent then buy on Google Play because morals.
"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."
That's so BS. Do you even understand the word "Monopoly"? In America you have option to watch game of thrones. You have cable provider such as Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter, Directv etc. All these providers give you options to subscribe to hbo, with also giving you the option to watch online, because the cable providers in America also give you internet, and because there's no Foxtel over there, you can watch the football through cable tv or through the internet.
You also don't have to get cable tv+hbo to watch game of thrones. You can watch game of throne on the internet in full hd, it's called HBO Now. HBO Now is $15/month and you can watch all hbo shows, all seasons, in full hd. If they had that in Australia for around $20, you would see piracy on game of thrones plumet. Unfortunately that will not happen because a monopoly called Foxtel.
Have you notice that Netflix shows are rarely pirated? This is because of the 3 entertainment rules. 1. Pricing, 2. Quality, 3 Accessibility. Foxtel is the problem. $15/month for game of thrones on Foxtel is a good start but not good enough. Why would i pay money to watch a tv show in 720p on my 1080p tv.
Foxtel need competition. They now have the rights to all nrl game, which is not good for sports fans, because when channel nine stops showing the nrl, the price of the sports channels will skyrocket. This is what monopolies do, they get rid of competition and then charge people a crazy amout for content that can only be found through them, and them only.
If the government made a law stating that all entertainment is available to all companies and streaming services in Australia, and banning 1 companies from owning a tv show or movie unless they produced it themselves. This would destroy piracy. Netflix would have game of thrones, google play, amazon prime, quickflix, etc. Avoid Stan that is foxtel. A good amount of competition is what Australia needs. Unfortunately Foxtel will do everything they can to stop this happening. The government loves money which is why foxtel is always up their bums to stop the pirate websites, but because most ppl in the government are grampa's(ppl who know nothing about what day it is) they will never understand the real problem.
You should do your research.
If you're prepared to wait till the season's over to watch them, then don't waste money buying access via Google/Apple. Just sign up for the free 2 week trial with Foxtel Now and binge. Then just remember to cancel before the trial is up - and you've watched them for free.
It should also be noted that subscribing to HBO Now cost 15 US dollars (i.e. $20 AU) per month.
if Foxtel Now had of been 1080 i probably would have taken that option.
The legit way, Foxtel Now, has no subtitles.
I don't watch a lot of TV, but I love game of thrones. Is there any way for me to legally purchase and watch season 7 as it airs in the US (or close to) without signing up for an expensive Foxtel package that I'll never use?
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