Torrent Site Traffic Rankings Revealed by New Study

A new study shows that, despite facing a constant barrage of legal challenges, The Pirate Bay is now the world's most popular torrent site.

The traffic report comes from torrent industry tracking blog TorrentFreak. After using "several traffic comparison and analytic tools," including Alexa and Compete, TorrentFreak put together a list of the most popular torrent sites on the web.

The Pirate Bay Withstands Legal Onslaught

Sitting in first place: Sweden-based The Pirate Bay. According to TorrentFreak, the site's Alexa rank is 75. (Alexa ranks site traffic by using information gleaned from users of its Alexa toolbar.)

Reports indicate that this could mean traffic to The Pirate Bay has risen significantly since 2011.

Also ranking high on TorrentFreak's list: MediaFire, KickassTorrents, 4shared, and Uploaded. All have Alexa ranks under 200 (the lower, the better). (Source: pcworld.com)

The biggest story here is The Pirate Bay's remarkable resilience. For years authorities have hounded the site and its owners, including co-founder Gottfried Svartholm, who was arrested in Cambodia in September 2012.

In May 2012 British courts moved to have Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in that country block all access to The Pirate Bay, forcing supporters to find alternative ways to use the site.

At roughly the same time a similar strategy was employed by Dutch ISPs.

TorrentFreak's numbers would indicate that these measures have been anything but successful in discouraging global Internet users from visiting The Pirate Bay.

GoT Creator Sees Rampant Piracy as "A Compliment"

Meanwhile, Game of Thrones' creator George R.R. Martin says he's not overly bothered by the fact that his show is one of the most pirated TV programs ever.

"In a strange way that's a compliment," Martin said. "I know that a lot of that piracy is taking place in Australia, where for whatever reason they delay the show six months. So people are just anxious to see it." (Source: theverge.com)