US cable supremo HBO has announced that Game of Thrones will be broadcast at the same time across multiple countries. The UK, sadly, will not be included.

Game of Thrones is the world's most pirated TV show, so it stands to reason that HBO might want to try and control that a little bit. But rather than going after people for downloading, it is going to ensure as many people as possible can see the show at the same time.

Apart from British and Irish people though, who don't have access to an HBO branded channel, so won't be able to see Game of Thrones while it airs in the US. That's because Sky has the exclusive rights to much of HBO's programming, something it paid for to get Sky Atlantic up and running, and to presumably keep HBO from launching its own UK channel.

Sky told Pocket-lint that this was because it wanted "all UK viewers to experience the show together" and that it would continue to air the show in its Tuesday slot. All of this will no doubt irritate UK fans enormously, as they will have to stay off the internet all of Monday to avoid spoilers from our American friends.

Game of Thrones usually airs at 9pm ET in the US, which works out to 2am UK time. It will no doubt be on torrent sites and the like minutes after it ends, which means anyone who cares could still see it before work on Monday.