All year we've heard about the monster ratings garnered by such buzzworthy series as AMC's "The Walking Dead" and CBS' "The Big Bang Theory," but Nielsen boxes certainly aren't everything.

Which of our favorite series rounded out TorrentFreak's annual list of the most-pirated programs of 2013?

HBO's "Game of Thrones" remains king.

Though the list mainly measures data collected by BitTorrent downloads, as opposed to a myriad of other ways fans might find outside of traditional airing to watch their favorite programs, "Game of Thrones" once again holds its title, netting 5.9 million downloads over the course of the year.

Not so surprisingly, AMC's "Breaking Bad" and "The Walking Dead" came in second and third, with an estimated 4.2 and 3.6 million downloads, respectively.

Of course, HBO naturally maintains an edge when it comes to piracy, as the premium cable network has become notorious for its exclusive content, preventing streaming access online through Netflix or even its own website.

Perhaps more surprising for 2013, however, were USA's "Suits" cracking the list and hot newcomer "Arrow" edging in at No. 10.

Here's the complete breakdown (with show and downloads):

  1. "Game of Thrones," HBO - 5.9 million downloads
  2. "Breaking Bad," AMC - 4.2 million downloads
  3. "The Walking Dead'," AMC - 3.6 million downloads
  4. "The Big Bang Theory," CBS - 3.4 million downloads
  5. "Dexter," Showtime - 3.1 million downloads
  6. "How I Met Your Mother," CBS - 3 million Downloads
  7. "Suits," USA - 2.6 million downloads
  8. "Homeland," Showtime - 2.4 million downloads
  9. "Vikings," History Channel - 2.3 million downloads
  10. "Arrow," The CW - 2.2 million downloads

 

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