Game of Thrones
The “Game of Thrones” Season 6 premiere airs on HBO Sunday, April 24 at 9 p.m. EDT. HBO

Thank you, Lord of Light! You don’t need a HBO account in order to watch the “Game of Thrones” Season 6 premiere tonight. The premium cable network is granting free viewership to all of Westeros for the weekend.

HBO and its sister network Cinemax announced earlier this week that April 22-April 25 will mark their “free preview weekend.” That means that those whose cable providers are participating can catch the Sunday night season premieres of “Game of Thrones,” “Silicon Valley” and “Veep” free of charge. And the timing of this promotion is not surprising. “Game of Thrones” is one of the most pirated shows currently on the air, and HBO has been implementing some changes in order to stop episode leaks and illegal downloads.

Last year the network altered distribution so that shows could premiere in 170 countries on the same day. HBO Now was also launched in 2015 as a way to attract subscribers who don’t pay for cable. But despite all their efforts to draw viewers to watch live rather than illegally download, advanced episodes still leaked online early.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the Season 5 premiere of “Game of Thrones” last April was illegally downloaded 13 million times. In comparison, HBO logged 8 million live viewers for the premiere.

That number might be lower this year as HBO decided not to grant early episodes to the press. So, those searching torrent sites for episode 1 of Season 6 won’t find it ahead of the premiere tonight.

Of course, if you’re not around to watch the free preview weekend, there is still a chance for you to watch “Game of Thrones” without getting charged. Those interested in the HBO Now streaming service can try their first month for free. Or, if you already took advantage of your first month, you can simply ask one of your HBO-subscribing friends for their login information. HBO is totally cool with that.

The “Game of Thrones” Season 6 premiere airs on HBO Sunday, April 24, at 9 p.m. EDT. For more details on how to watch click HERE.

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