Even with stellar ratings, HBO series "Game of Thrones" continues to wear the crown of the most pirated show of the year, just like last year.

TorrentFreak recently released their list of the biggest piracy hitters, with "Game of Thrones" at number one with an estimated 5.2 million illegal downloads per episode.

"That's just 300,000 less viewers than the normal U.S.-based audience that pays for it," muses Youtube reporter Philip DeFranco.

Other shows that made the list include "The Big Bang Theory," "How I Met Your Mother," and "The Walking Dead."

The news is not a surprise by any means, and even the people behind the HBO production is not too worried about such statistics.

"I probably shouldn't be saying this, but it is a compliment of sorts," says HBO programming president Michael Lombardo.

"The demand is there. And it certainly didn't negatively impact the DVD sales."

But the numbers certainly don't help many HBO Go subscribers' wish for the service to be offered alone rather than in a package with other cable channels.

"How high does that torrent number have to go for HBO to be like, 'OK, maybe we'll offer the service by itself," wonders DeFranco.

For months, the company has teased the idea, but so far nothing has been confirmed, presumably because offering an online subscription would undercut its cable subscription business.

Right now, we have the right model, [but] we would have to make the math work," says HBO Chief Executive Richard Plepler according to Digital Trends.