Looks like some lucky Direct TV subscribers got Game of Thrones early
April 14, 2019, 7:12 PM ET
By Christian Long
In what's sure to be a definitive moment in pop culture history, the final season of Game of Thrones kicks off tonight on HBO. However, some DirecTV costumers were apparently able to stream the episode four hours early.
According to The Wrap, DirecTV subscribers started getting push notifications that Season 8, Episode 1 of Game of Thrones was available to watch around 5 p.m. ET, even though the show doesn't air until 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
As expected, however, it took almost no time for the internet to take notice.
So PSA. Tonight's #GamesOfThrones premiere dropped hours and hours early on Direct TV so BE CAREFUL ONLINE FOR TWITTER IS DARK AND FULL OF SPOILERS.
— Joanna Robinson (@jowrotethis) April 14, 2019
Four hours early? I'll take it pic.twitter.com/upp3cWrc11
— Cody Keenan (@codykeenan) April 14, 2019
Game of thrones just posted on Directv Now four hours early. See you in an hour
— Desi Vuillaume (@djvuillaume) April 14, 2019
It appears that the issue was corrected rather swiftly, as some DirecTV customers were reporting that they weren't able to find the episode amid all the buzz going around.
To the person who leaked the #GameOfThrones premiere early on DirecTV...I wish you good fortune in the wars to come.
— Bart Błachnio (@heybartosz) April 14, 2019
Shockingly, much of the conversation about it on Twitter was limited to people getting out the word that the episode was streaming but managing to avoid any outright spoilers (at least so far). So, if you want to go into the season premiere Jon Snow-style, you might want to be diligent about your online activity for the next couple hours. The internet is dark and full of spoilers, after all.
Not long after word spread, DirecTV issued a statement to Variety, who said that it basically boiled down to a glitch.
"Apparently our system was as excited as we are for Game of Thrones tonight and gave a few DirecTV Now customers early access to the episode by mistake," a spokesperson for AT&T said. "When we became aware of the error, we immediately fixed it and we look forward to tuning in this evening."
In the meantime, you can catch the premiere of the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones tonight on HBO.
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