by Thinus Ferreira
It is the show you've been looking for: The show most-watched TV show through illegal means in 2020 is a show and a service that isn't available through any pay-TV option in South Africa with Star Wars: The Mandalorian series on Disney+ that has dethroned Game of Thrones.
According to TorrentFreak that researches and compiles an annual list, The Mandalorian on Disney+ is now the most sought-after TV series to watch globally - whether through legitimate channels or pirate viewing.
That is followed by the subversive superhero series The Boys on Amazon Prime Video, and with HBO's Westworld, seen on M-Net (DSv 101) and Showmax, in third place.
Noteworthy is that no show from Netflix appears on 2020's Top 10 list.
The force powers of Baby Yoda (real name: Grogu) has overpowered HBO's fantasy series Game of Thrones that for years dominated the annual post-pirated TV show list. The Mandalorian has jumped from third most-downloaded series in 2019 and is now in first place.
Disney+ that has rolled out in several comparable TV markets to South Africa, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South America, several countries in Europe and Australia and New Zealand remains unavailable in the country or anywhere else in sub-Saharan Africa.
While Disney isn't making it possible for South African to watch The Mandalorian and forcing them to pirate-view the show, The Walt Disney Company is oddly licensing, distributing and selling The Mandalorian merchandise like clothes in South African retail stores.
Disney has not announced any possible Disney+ roll-out date for South Africa, fuelling in the lexicon of The Mandalorian "the way": growing consumer interest in illegal downloads and sharing of its content across Africa.
As Disney+ remains unavailable although consumers would pay for legal access, more people over time will use torrents and other illegal download methods to watch The Mandalorian as well as other Disney+ content, which means that Disney will lose more money and revenue from content monetisation from consumers who would have paid to watch it.
New shows on the Top 10 most-downloaded list for 2020 include Star Trek: Picard available on Amazon Prime Video that is available as a subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service in South Africa, and the HBO Stephen King-based mini-series Outsider that was on M-Net and Showmax.
"The top three nicely shows how fragmented the online entertainment industry has become. In order to watch all three series, one needs three separate subscriptions. That's a cost not everyone may be able to afford, which can explain part of the piracy problem," TorrentFreak says.
Other shows on 2020's Top 10 most-watched list are traditional pay-TV series, including Vikings on M-Net City (DStv 115) and Showmax, Rick and Morty on TNT Africa (DStv 137) and Showmax, The Walking Dead on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131) and Arrow on M-Net and Flash on M-Net City.
This is the 10 top ranking:
2019
1. The Mandalorian 3
2. The Boys none
3. Westworld none
4. Vikings 4
5. Star Trek: Picard none
6. Rick and Morty 8
7. The Walking Dead 6
8. Outsider none
9. Arrow 10
10. The Flash 7
