George R. R. Martin calls out Australian TV pirates

HBO's Game of Thrones has won many plaudits and awards, including earning the dubious honour of being the most downloaded TV show in 2012. The book's author, George R. R. Martin, is calling out Australia for its part in the illegal distribution.

Speaking at a promotional screening of the show's third season, Martin spoke to his perspective of changing delivery streams for books and movies.

"We have to contend with the fact that [Game of Thrones] is the most pirated show in the world, a lot of it coming from Australia,"

This comment got a laugh from the audience at the event, and the Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg chiming in with "Oh, those Aussies." Martin puts it down to the negotiations between the content owners and broadcasters.

"They delay it six months there, and the people won't wait so they download it." explains Martin.

Guilty as charged

Sadly, what Martin is not aware of is that the second season of Game of Thrones was broadcast and available on iTunes to rent within a week of its US air date. This didn't stop 400,000 Australians downloading episodes (by TorrentFreak's estimates).

In 2013, the third season will air in Australia within hours of it being seen first in the US, but only time will tell if that will keep Aussie fingers from clicking the 'download' button in their browsers.

Head over to AllThingsD to watch the full interview.