If there is anything I know for sure, it is that HBO and AMC make some DAMN fine television shows. HBO’s “Game of Thrones” and AMC’s “Breaking Bad” are the two most downloaded and pirated shows of 2013.

The season 3 finale of “Game of Thrones” was downloaded 5.9 million times, most within one week after it aired in June. This is the second year in a row that it takes the top spot. The series finale for “Breaking Bad” which set several ratings records as well, was downloaded 4.2 million times.

Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes this summer quipped that widespread piracy of “Game of Thrones” was “better than an Emmy,” and said HBO has been dealing with theft of its content for years. “Breaking Bad” creator Vince Gilligan said in a BBC interview that piracy helped boost the show’s “brand awareness,” while also acknowledging it was a problem.

However, Gale Anne Hurd, the executive producer of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” vehemently disagrees.

“There’s a mistaken belief by many of my peers that piracy is somehow good, that viewers will develop a habit to pay for it,” Hurd said. “I’m not sure they really understand other than anecdotal evidence that their ratings go up that the people who pirate are not then going to choose legal downloads or legal viewing in the future.”

The piracy figures tracked by TorrentFreak include only files downloaded via BitTorrent’s file-sharing protocol, excluding illegal sharing on cyberlocker and streaming sites.