'Game Of Thrones' On Netflix: Why It May Never Be Available

By Jacob Kleinman | April 10 2012 7:23 PM

While the Internet has created unlimited opportunities for consumers and creative types to explore new frontiers for free, it also scares the bejesus out of large, well-established industries that view their profit margins as vulnerable to the technology platform. This is particularly true for the entertainment industry, which experienced massive losses as more and more people download their content online illegally despite the industry's best efforts to fight Internet piracy.

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Websites like iTunes, Spotify and particularly Netflix have popped up to offer a solution: cheaper content accessible online. Consumers can still get cheap unlimited entertainment online, without the fear of being sued for illegally downloading music and movies. It's a small price to pay for entertainment.

But Netflix, which has amassed a very large library of movies and television series to stream instantly online for a low monthly price, still can't get their hands on some of the content that their consumers want the most.

An article recently published by NPR, titled Gaps In Netflix Online Library Likely To Persist, argued that the most glaring gaps in Netflix's instant streaming library are likely to persist. Notably, the massively popular show, Game Of Thrones, won't be available to watch online via Netlifx anytime soon:

No matter how much Netflix Inc. is willing to pay for the rights, some online video remains off-limits.

Major movie studios are refusing to license the rights to most of their latest movies at the same time they're released on DVDs. Premium cable channels such as HBO and Showtime also are withholding their most popular series, including Game of Thrones and Dexter, because they are worried about losing subscribers if the content is available on Netflix's less expensive Internet service.

HBO has their own online streaming program, called HBO Go, and their focus seems to be on building their own brand rather than submitting to Netflix's claim to the instant streaming throne. For the time being fans of Game of Thrones with Netflix accounts don't have many options if they want to watch new episodes of GoT: buy HBO, buy an HBO GO account or find a friend with cable.

No matter how much Netflix Inc. is willing to pay for the rights, some online video remains off-limits.

Major movie studios are refusing to license the rights to most of their latest movies at the same time they're released on DVDs. Premium cable channels such as HBO and Showtime also are withholding their most popular series, including Game of Thrones and Dexter, because they are worried about losing subscribers if the content is available on Netflix's less expensive Internet service.