HBO’s Game of Thrones has topped a list of the most pirated TV shows for the fourth year running.

According to Torrentfreak, Game of Thrones Season 5 finale was illegally downloaded 14.4 million times. More than half of those came in the week after its US premiere.

The Walking Dead and The Big Bang Theory were also in the top three, with 6.6 million and 4.4 million downloads respectively.

Earlier this year, Game of Thrones broke a record when more than 258,000 users shared the show simultaneously.

The number of illegal downloads for Game of Thrones is almost double the 8 million people who regularly watch the show legally in the US.

The first four episodes of Season 5 leaked online before they aired in April, after one pirate uploaded content from the DVD screeners sent out to critics for review.

The HBO drama was nominated for 24 Emmy Awards in July and, earlier this month, was nominated for the Golden Globe for best drama series.

Game of Thrones Season 6 is due to begin in April.