Game of Thrones 3rd season has finally arrived!!! And with an appreciation for its rabid fans piracy to boot. Only those in a position of power know how to take a compliment!

Michael Lombardo, head of programming at HBO was actually reported saying, “I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but it is a compliment of sorts…the demand is there. And it certainly didn’t negatively impact the DVD sales.” He’s not just boasting either.

The truth of the matter is regardless of piracy, Game of Thrones is so popular, HBO doesn’t even feel the strain of losing money due to how large the sales are. Just last month, early DVD sales were charted over 241,000 units on top the number of digital sales of episodes ranging over 355,000.

He went on to add that piracy is “something that comes along with having a wildly successful show on a subscription network.”

Based on how often I heard random strangers talking about it today in restaurants and on facebook, I’d have to say, yeah, they got nothin’ to worry about. Besides jank bootleg copies ruining their cred, apparently. But even that’s not really a problem for a show that’s this entertaining.