UPDATE: He seems to have backtracked on these pro-piracy remarks.

How pissed off is television director David Petrarca that many of the shows that he directs are pirated by millions?

Not that much, really.

In fact, Petrarca thinks that downloading is crucial to the survival of the types of shows he directs.

Speaking at the Perth Writers Festival this past weekend Petrarca, who has directed episodes of hit HBO shows like Game of Thrones, Big Love, True Blood, and Boardwalk Empire, said that ‘illegal’ downloads don’t really matter because shows like those rely on “cultural buzz.” The piracy actually helps the shows succeed in a way, as more viewers equals more “social commentary.”

“That’s how they survive,” he said.

Petrarca also argued that HBO’s 60 million worldwide subscribers insulates them a bit from any negative effects of piracy.

HBO’s Games of Thrones was crowned as the most pirated television series of 2012 back in December. According to BitTorrent numbers, Game of Thrones logged over 4.28 million downloads, compared to 4.2 million estimated U.S. TV viewers.

Petrarca went on to tout the popularity of premium cable, saying that “everybody wants to do it now.” He said that it look Steven Spielberg years to produce Lincoln, and it could have been done in just months on HBO.

[Sydney Morning Herald]