The hugely popular TV series Game Of Thrones is set to return on July 17. If you’re one of the many Aussies who have been spooked away from piracy, you’re going to need a cheap and legal way to watch.
We’ve looked at the options and worked out the most cost-effective method. With a friend in tow, it’s possible to get the entire series for as little as $7.50. Here’s how it’s done.
There are several ways to tune into Game Of Thrones in Australia – some of which are more legal than others. As always, it will be possible to obtain episodes illegally via the usual torrent and streaming sites. However, we strongly advise against this.
Over the past 12 months, anti-piracy efforts have been stepped up significantly in Australia, with rights holders and the government working in tandem to combat illegal downloaders. You can rest assured that the online activity of Game Of Thrones pirates will be monitored with keen interest – and a VPN isn’t always a fail-safe solution. If legislation ever passes to enable rights holders to prosecute offenders in a small claims court, your name could be on the list.
If you’d rather be safe than sorry, here’s how to watch Game Of Thrones legally for the cheapest price possible.
Step #1 Subscribe to Foxtel Now’s Pop Pack on July 17
Foxtel’s Pop Pack costs $15 per month. New customers also receive a two-week free trial. To maximise the freebie period, make sure you subscribe on July 17 – the same day that the first episode premieres.
Step #2 Split the cost with a friend
If you have a friend who also loves Game Of Thrones, you can split the cost of a single account with them. Because Foxtel Now allows you to stream to two devices simultaneously, you will both be able to watch the show at the same time in separate houses.
Step #3 Cancel your subscription on August 27
The last episode is set to air on August 27. If you don’t want Foxtel Now beyond this date, be sure to cancel your subscription immediately after. That way, you should only be charged for a maximum of two billing cycles.
This brings the total to $30 – or $15 each, if you’re sharing with a friend. We think this is a reasonable asking price for one of the best shows on television – even if you don’t watch anything else in the Pop Pack. (For what it’s worth, the pack contains a bunch of quality HBO programming; including all previous seasons of Game of Thrones.)
If you’re extremely thrifty, you could sign up on July 30, watch the first two episodes, and then enjoy the rest of the season ‘live’ for just $7.50. Not too shabby! (If you’re willing to wait until the final episode airs, you can even get the whole thing for free by binge watching over two weeks.)
Comments
21 responses to “Here’s The Cheapest Way To Watch Game Of Thrones Season 7 (Legally)”
If you want to watch Foxtel Now on your TV in HD then make sure you have a compatible device.
There is currently no app or support for Android TV (including casting to an Android TV (edit. casting to Nvidia Shield works, see comment below)), Apple TV, Airplay, PlayStation & Xbox (only Foxtel Play which is SD).
If you have a Chromecast, Telstra TV or PC with Google Chrome browser then you’re all good.
So frustrating this. It’s like they’re constantly 4 steps behind the competition, yet employing the same old BS anticompetitive behaviour, making the losers the consumers, as usual.
Netflix, Stan, Amazon, YouTube all have up to 4k streams available on their Android TV apps. I’m sure they have it on other platforms as well. Yet the best Foxtel call pull off is 720p, on a very small number of devices.
Optional: Give Foxtel money therefore supporting their antiquated content delivery system.
Casting to Android TV devices does work. I’ve been doing this with Foxtel Now to an NVIDIA Shield Android TV. I can only assume it also works on other Android TV boxes like the Xiaomi Mi Box, but I’m not sure.
Good to hear it works on the Shield, comments I have seen elsewhere had stated that it didn’t.
I have a Mi Box and casting does not work to it, I can cast iView, SBS on demand, Stan, Netflix. Anime Lab etc. but not Foxtel Now. In fact I have three devices being the Mi Box, Apple TV and PS4 but none of those are supported to display Foxtel Now (except the PS4 using Foxtel Play in standard definition).
That’s a shame. With that said, there’s a minor quibble I have with casting to Shield. For some reason the aspect ratio changes by like 0.5% every 1-2 minutes and I have no idea why. The picture seems to shrink horizontally by 10 pixels and then go back to normal. Never seen it before.
How to legally watch GoT for FREE
Wait untill the end of the season.
Subscribe to Foxtel Now and use the two week trial to binge the season.
Good point! I’ve added that to the article.
Yet more shilling for Foxtels rubbish streaming service.
We do not shill for Foxtel.
Even if Foxtel was advertising with us (it isn’t) we would never give dishonest advice to our readers. Also, here’s an excerpt from the article:
How exactly is that shilling?
Because some people like Carl are obvious, anti-Lifehacker morons. Please carl, go and troll somewhere else.
You can’t please everyone.
THE NORTH REMEMBERS
Dropping the Jager bomb
C’mon this has to be a thing, well played.
A shilling is an old form of currency worth about ten cents.
The person should have stated “Yet more cents for Foxtels streaming rubbish…”
I’m fond of Game of Thrones, great thanks for the useful info!
I’m just going to wait until the season is over and buy the iTunes versions like I’ve done the past 2 years.
It’s the kind of show I like to binge watch anyway so it works best for me.
As noted above, you can sign up for the two week free trial *after* it airs and binge the whole thing for free.
I do this with other series, but the problem with GoT is the amount of coverage it gets across the world in media outlets, among social groups/friends/colleagues and considering how it’s a massive phenomenon it feels almost impossible to escape spoilers however minor they may be. Even when I browse completely unrelated reddit topics, some dick will post spoilers about the latest episode.
I’m not even on any social media. The problem there would be way worse.
I fully expect to the comments and articles online of “Why I still illegally download GOT” to be in full swing soon. With the next shifting goal posts of the latest means to legally getting it not being enough.
I would probably sub for it, but 720p in 2017 is a load of horse shit.
Foxtel website says “After the trial, you will be billed for your selected packs”, so if I signed up on 17/07, after 2 weeks free trial my billing cycle should start on 31/07, and if I cancel on August 27 which is still within one month, shouldn’t I be charged only one month?