For the third consecutive year, HBO's "Game of Thrones" was declared as the most pirated TV show of the year. The widely popular TV adaptation of the bestselling novels written by George R.R. Martin was downloaded approximately 8.1 million times based on the record of TorrentFreak. 

Trailing behind it with a very large margin is AMC's hit post-apocalyptic drama "The Walking Dead" with a total of 4.8 million illegal downloads. Claiming the third spot is the hit comedy show "The Big Bang Theory" with 3.9 million downloads. 

The reason for the continuous popularity of "GoT" among illegal downloaders could be the high subscription rate for HBO, yet fans of the show are willing to illegally obtain a copy of the episodes because of its interesting storyline as well as its graphic scenes. Other downloaders might come from different countries who do not want to be spoiled by those who already watched the most recent episodes, since the international release of "GoT" is delayed by a day or more. "GoT's" popularity may also stem from the fact that the novels sold millions of copies worldwide, which means that there are enough followers of the story who want to get hold of the episodes in an instant.

The list of the top 10 most illegally downloaded shows of 2014 includes:

1. Game of Thrones (8,100,000 downloads)
2. The Walking Dead (4,800,000)
3. The Big Bang Theory (3,900,000)
4. How I Met Your Mother (3,500,000)
5. Gotham (3,200,000)
6. Arrow (2,900,000)
7. Grey's Anatomy (2,800,000)
8. Vikings (2,700,000)
9. Suits (2,500,000)
10. South Park (2,400,000)

HBO did not release an official statement about this list, but there are reports that the cable company is planning to launch a standalone streaming service that lets viewers get hold of a TV show without having to have an existing cable subscription. According to reports, this service will be launched right before the fifth season of "Game of Thrones" airs in Spring 2015.