HBO’s Game of Thrones returns on Apr. 12, and fans have been preparing for the epic fifth season over the past three months by illegally downloading the hit series more times than any other show on television. According to numbers from rights management and piracy protection firm Irdeto, the drama based on George R.R. Martin’s popular “A Song of Ice and Fire” book series was downloaded over 7 million times from Feb. 5 to Apr. 6, beating out AMC’s The Walking Dead by over one million downloads.

Game of Thrones earned the title of most illegal downloads from 2011 to 2014, and while The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad presented it with a serious threat in the beginning of this year, the recent building anticipation for Thrones’ fifth season helped the series regain the crown yet again. From Feb. 5 to Apr. 6, the HBO drama was illegally downloaded more than 7 million times, a 45 percent increase from the 4.9 million Irdeto reported during the same period last year. The Walking Dead was downloaded 5.7 million times, Breaking Bad was downloaded 3.8 million times, Vikings was downloaded 3.4 million times, and House of Cards came in fifth with 2.7 million downloads.

Despite the massive fan-following for Game of Thrones in the United States, the majority of the piracy comes from Brazil. France ranks as the second highest country for illegal downloads of the series, and the U.S. comes in third, with more than 464,000 illegal downloads during the three-month period.

HBO recently launched their stand-alone streaming service in hopes of catering to millennials and other consumers who don’t currently subscribe to cable. While the widespread illegal availability of HBO’s content may prevent the service from being successful, Irdeto’s research report suggests the service may help minimize illegal downloading.

“It’s often said that piracy is good marketing, but as piracy continues to skyrocket, the mindset is shifting toward offering a compelling legal alternative like HBO Now to start converting pirates into paying customers,” said Irdeto vp services Rory O’Connor. “Our piracy data indicates Game of Thrones continues to be wildly popular in countries like Brazil and France, where a service like HBO Now could be a good way to recapture some revenue.”