HBO orders bar to stop hosting Game of Thrones screening party

(Image credit: Helen Sloan/HBO)

published 20 April 2015

Game of Thrones' recent piracy woes must have made HBO a little jumpy. On Sunday, just hours before the new episode of Game of Thrones was scheduled to air, HBO sent Brooklyn bar Videology "a very polite but official letter" requesting that they stop hosting weekly Game of Thrones screening parties.

In an interview with the New York Daily News, Videology co-owner Wendy Chamberlain admitted that she felt her bar had been unfairly singled out by HBO. "Seeing that many other bars in the neighborhood and round the city were showing it, we made the assumption that HBO believed, as we do, that public screenings were in the best interest of both HBO and the fans, since GoT is enjoyed on a deeper level as a communal event," said Chamberlain. "But in the end, it's not up to us."

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In recent years, bar screenings devoted to popular shows like Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, and The Walking Dead have become increasingly popular, allowing viewers to have a beer while they watch the newest episode with a crowd of other fans (and allowing bars to drum up some extra business on Sunday nights). In the absence of a complaint from AMC, Videology will continue hosting weekly screening parties for Mad Men.

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Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.

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