Game of Thrones Season 5: 9 Things Viewers Need to Know

It’s finally time for the Game of Thrones Season 5 premier and fans are eager to see who lives and who dies in George R.R. Martin’s series that airs on HBO. Here’s how to watch Game of Thrones season 5 and what you need to know about the service.

The Game of Thrones Season 5 start arrives just in time with HBO Now, bringing the first legitimate access to Game of Thrones fans without cable and it comes complete with a free month of Game of Thrones.

After an incredibly long wait Game of Thrones Season 5 is back with 10 episodes that focus on the fourth and fifth novels in the A Song of Fire and Ice series. The dual book coverage comes from the focus of these two novels that cover the same period of time in the Game of Thrones universe, but follow different characters.

Read: HBO Now: 5 Things to Know Before You Subscribe

Game of Thrones Season 5 starts on April 12th on HBO, HBO Go and HBO Now. Here are the essential details that viewers need to know about the Game of Thrones Season 5 premier no matter how they plan to watch it.

Game of Thrones Season 5 Start Time

The Game of Thrones Season 5 start time is 9PM Eastern on HBO. You can watch this on your TV through a cable provider at this time. If you are on the West coast you should prepare to tune in at the same time, so 6PM Pacific. Expect to see a lot of chatter on social networks as this starts.

Game of Thrones Season 5 Start on HBO Go & HBO Now

This time around you can also watch Game of Thrones Season 5 on HBO Now, a new service that exists on Apple devices now. The new season of Game of Thrones is also on HBO Go, the companion app for users who subscribe to HBO with cable or Satellite.

You can watch Game of Thrones Season 5 on HBO Go and HBO Now at roughly the same time as on HBO airs the premier on cable. HBO Go Support warns that the start time may vary across devices.

How to Watch Game of Thrones Season 5

If you plan to watch the Game of Thrones Season 5 premier for the first time on HBO Go or HBO Now you should prepare now. HBO offers a checklist and instructions to set up HBO Go on any device that supports the service. You’ll need to sign up for one of these services and sign in or activate your devices before season 5 starts.

You should activate the device you want to watch HBO Go on now, instead of at 9PM when everyone starts trying to use HBO Go.

Now is also the right time to sign up for HBO Now if you don’t already have a membership and plan to use it to watch Game of Thrones Season 5.

Free HBO Now for Game of Thrones Season 5

If you own an Apple device you can get a free month of HBO Now, which arrives just in time to watch the first four episodes of HBO Now free of charge. Of course you will need to subscribe to HBO Now for $14.99 a month after that initial trial if you want to see all the new Game of Thrones season.

You don’t need cable or satellite TV to get HBO Now, but you can only use an Apple device right now.

Expect Game of Thrones Season 5 Problems on HBO Go & HBO Now

When demand for a show reaches the level of Game of Thrones, services that provide access face incredible demand and we expect to see some HBO Go problems and some HBO Now problems during the season 5 premier.

This would not be the first time that HBO’s services couldn’t keep up with the demand of users to see a show. If you run into streaming problems, you can always tune in on demand when the dust settles, but that’s not what you want to hear.

If you can, watch Game of Thrones Season 5 through your cable or satellite box instead of on HBO Go or HBO Now, but if you do use one of these services you should make sure that you have a good connection.

Watch Game of Thrones Seasons 1-4 Free

If you need to catch up on Game of Thrones before Season 5 starts you should sign up and start watching Game of Thrones seasons 1-4 on HBO Go, HBO Now or on HBO On Demand. If you sign up for the free trial of HBO Now you can watch all of these episodes free of charge. If you pay for HBO through cable or satellite you will get these at no extra cost, but not quite free.

Game of Thrones Season 5 Downloads Leak

It didn’t take long, but there are already Game of Thrones Season 5 downloads out containing the first four episodes. These likely come from a DVD sent out to critics, and the episodes are already available online. TorrentFreak reports that the Game of Thrones Season 5 downloads are already online and users downloaded the Game of Thrones Season 5 episodes more than 100,000 times.

Game of Thrones Lore

HBO produced a collection of History & Lore videos that showcase the backstory of major characters and provide more information. While these will not reveal any spoilers for season 5, they are a cool look into the Game of Thrones series.

Check out the full compilation of Game of Thrones Season 4 History & Lore videos below to get ready for Game of Thrones’ return.

Game of Thrones Season 5 Videos

While you wait for the Game of Thrones season 5 start time you can get ready by watching the two Game of Thrones trailers for season 5. This is as close as you’ll get to watching Game of Thrones early, unless of course you go looking for a Game of Thrones Season 5 torrent. The playlist below contains the Game of Thrones Season 5 trailers and teasers.

Game of Thrones season 5 episodes will appear on HBO Go, HBO Now and HBO on Demand to watch again shortly after the original airing ends.