There are two unaired episodes left in Game of Thrones’ seventh season, and due to a flub, one of them is now living on the internet. According to an HBO statement obtained by The Verge, HBO Nordic and HBO España mistakenly released the show’s upcoming sixth episode ahead of its scheduled debut.
HBO accidentally aired Game of Thrones’ sixth episode in Spain. Now it’s on the internet.
But hackers aren’t responsible.
Alex Abad-Santos is a senior correspondent who explains what society obsesses over, from Marvel and movies to fitness and skin care. He came to Vox in 2014. Prior to that, he worked at The Atlantic.
“We have learned that the upcoming episode of Game of Thrones was accidentally posted for a brief time on the HBO Nordic and HBO España platforms,” an HBO spokesperson said. “The error appears to have originated with a third-party vendor and the episode was removed as soon as it was recognized.”
Although the episode was only available for a brief window of time, it was downloaded by fans and is now being shared online.
The HBO spokesperson explained to The Verge that the leak is not connected to the recent cyberattack against the network, in which content from Game of Thrones and other HBO shows was stolen. In a roundabout way, HBO Nordic and HBO España’s accidental airing of this weekend’s episode devalues any information or content the hackers may have surrounding episode six.
Game of Thrones is a wildly popular show with a fanatical following — one that thirsts for every tiny morsel about upcoming episodes. For many of the show’s fans, seeing an unaired episode ahead of time is like hitting the jackpot. HBO has repeatedly battled leaks surrounding the show; earlier this season, the fourth episode also leaked online ahead of its debut, after a security breach at the network’s distribution partner Star India.
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