Game of Thrones most pirated show for the fifth year running

HBO's Westworld quickly climbed the list, which shows its popularity. Photo / AP

HBO's Game of Thrones was the most pirated show of the year, the fifth consecutive year it has topped the list.

According to statistics from several BitTorrent sources, TorrentFreakwas able to compile a list of the 10 most pirated shows of the year.

While Game of Thrones took the dubious honour of the number one slot, AMC's The Walking Dead was in second place again.

However, this was threatened by HBO's science fiction/western Westworld, which made its debut on the list at a close third.

Other new additions to the top 10 were Fox's Lucifer and Amazon Prime exclusive The Grand Tour, coming in at positions eight and 10 respectively.

The Grand Tour starring Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May was popular. Photo / Supplied

Despite the growing popularity of illegal streaming sites, the number of downloaded torrents did not set a new record - with downloads averaging the same amount as 2015.

The highest recorded number of pirates sharing Game of Thrones was 350,000, with the peak traffic coming just after the season finale.

While none of this is overly surprising, TorrentFreak did point out that there has been an increase in high-quality video torrents this year, with 720p and 1080p the preferred formats.

The full list of most pirated shows can be seen below:

1. Game of Thrones
2. The Walking Dead
3. Westworld
4. The Flash
5. Arrow
6. The Big Bang Theory
7. Vikings
8. Lucifer
9. Suits
10. The Grand Tour