In what must have come as a shock to precisely nobody, it was revealed that ‘Game of Thrones’ was the most pirated show of 2016 – a title it has held for the fifth consecutive year.

Despite its massive and continued popularity, the HBO fantasy show has still attracted the attention of illegal streamers and downloaders more than any other television series throughout 2016, and was the most downloaded show on BitTorrent, in data compiled from a number of sources by torrent-tracking site TorrentFreak.

Impressively (but not for the show’s makers) ‘Game of Thrones’ has held this dubious distinction since 2012, and the interest in the series displays no sign of abating.

Game of ThronesYet again, 'Game of Thrones' was the most illegally downloaded show of 2016

The sixth season of ‘Game of Thrones’ appeared earlier this summer, with fans set for a longer wait than usual for the seventh season in 2017. Now that winter has actually arrived, filming only recently commenced, with a release set for late summer next year. It will also consist of just seven episodes, with all the previous series constructed from 10 episodes each.

More: Kit Harington and Maisie Williams tease ‘Game of Thrones’ season seven

AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’ was the second-most illegally downloaded show of 2016, with HBO’s recent smash hit series ‘Westworld’ coming in third.

British motoring show ‘The Grand Tour’, the latest platform for the controversial Jeremy Clarkson and which commenced on Amazon Prime only in November, rather impressively managed to come in at tenth place on the list.

Variety reported earlier in December that ‘The Grand Tour’ had broken the record for the highest volume of illegal views for a British TV show in history, as well as the highest level of piracy for a TV series in its first season through the first three episodes.

More: ‘Game of Thrones’ season seven leaks include a long-awaited return and an unexpected truce