Netflix Fighting Pirates Of ‘Orange Is The New Black’

The third season of Orange is the New Black, the original series created by Netflix, released this week in its entirety, but Netflix is fighting a war against technology as it goes up against people trying to illegally stream the show.

OITNB is available to all Netflix subscribers who pay $7.99 per month, but there are multiple sites illegally streaming Orange is the New Black (among others) for free. CNN Money reported the problem is so bad that when they published a story about the new season of OITNB, a Netflix representative contacted them asking them to include a link to the official site.

“We’re up against all these sites that house [an] illegal copyrighted version.”

When searching Google for “Stream Orange is the New Black season 3,” the first result is for a website that streams content for free. Within the first 10 listings are several other pirate sites that are illegally streaming the show. Netflix, which also produces the hit show House of Cards, has not responded to the problem, but pirate sites are a big issue for both subscription-based streaming sites and cable companies.

Orange is the New Black is based on Piper Kerman’s memoir, Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison. The show is based on her experiences in prison and stars Taylor Schilling, Laura Prepon, and for its first two seasons, Jason Biggs. OITNB earned 12 Primetime Emmy Awards for its first season. The show won Favorite TV Dramedy at the 41st People’s Choice Awards earlier this year.

While no numbers were available in regards to how many illegal streams or downloads Orange is the New Black has seen, Variety posted a list of the top 10 pirated television shows in 2014. The list ranked the shows in order and displayed the number of illegal torrent downloads for that year. HBO’s Game of Thrones saw over 48 million illegal downloads, with AMC’s The Walking Dead right behind it with 47 million. By comparison, it was estimated that the first season of Orange is the New Black brought in between eight million and 15 million viewers per episode legally via Netflix.

Orange is the New Black has been renewed for at least one more season. Netflix attempts to stand out from regular cable providers by releasing their shows all at once, providing viewers the opportunity to either watch all episodes straight through or space them out over time at their leisure.

[Image via People]