Game of Thrones fans in New York City will have to seek out another location to communally watch Jon Snow, after HBO sent a cease and desist order to a beloved Brooklyn bar that was bringing the dragon-filled hit series to hipster crowds every week.
The bar, Videology, aired the fourth season of Game of Thrones without issue. Its screening of the fifth season, however, seems to have raised a red flag, because it charged some patrons to attend a season premiere party last week.
Videology co-owner Wendy Chamberlain said the fee was to cover the cost of food and beer.
HBO has been sending such letters to bars and restaurants since the days of The Sopranos. The rationale has been the same: HBO is a paid subscription service, so it is not supposed to be made available in public establishments, just personal residences.
“When it does happen, it is of particular concern when there is an attempt to profit off the programming,” HBO said in a statement. “This is nothing new as we have taken such actions for well over a decade.”
Some who had planned to attend the Videology Game of Thrones screening said that they had an HBO subscription, but preferred to watch the show with a crowd.
“Totally disappointed. I’ll probably find another bar that shows it,” one fan, Lia Ernst, told the New York Daily News.
Sorry guys. No Game of Thrones showing tonight. Or ever. Not our choice. #WinterIsHere
— VideologyBar&Cinema (@Videology) April 19, 2015
Videology used to show Star Trek episodes each Sunday, but said in an email to patrons that it had to change the name of the night because CBS sent a cease and desist letter in October 2014. The weekly celebration has since been changed to “Sci-fi Sunday” – when shows including Star Trek are aired.
Game of Thrones was named the most illegally downloaded television series of 2014. HBO’s president of programming, Michael Lombardo, said in January that the illegal pirating of the show was “a compliment of sorts”.
“The demand is there,” Lombardo told Entertainment Weekly. “And it certainly didn’t negatively impact the DVD sales. [Piracy is] something that comes along with having a wildly successful show on a subscription network.”
