The full Foxtel home service is expensive — at least $540 (plus $200 equipment and installation) on a 12-month plan if you want SD HBO content, or $660 for HD — but thankfully there is an option for Australians who want to watch Game of Thrones week-by-week without the full subscription. You can watch the show as part of the Foxtel Play streaming service for $30 per month — paying only $5 for the Premiere Movies and Drama package on top of the $25 basic package. You can watch new episodes live via the linear channel streams on Monday mornings, plus they'll be added to Foxtel Play's Catch Up library on Monday afternoons. Normally $20, the Premiere Movies and Drama package is discounted to $5 for three months — so with the basic package all up you're paying $7.50 per Game of Thrones episode. It's not such a bad deal, especially if you fancy some of the other shows in the Premiere package. Paying for a basic package which you might not need is frustrating, as is the fact that Foxtel Play streams only in standard definition, but it's hard for pirates to argue that Foxtel is still not giving Australians what they want, when they want it and at a reasonable price. Over in the US, viewers have a new way to watch Game of Thrones this season — straight from the source in full HD via the $US14.99 per month HBO Now streaming service. Until now you've needed a home HBO cable subscription to watch Game of Thrones online via HBO Go, but with the new HBO Now it's finally possible to cut the cable and just watch online — similar to Foxtel Play.

The fact you don't need a home HBO cable subscription also makes it much easier for Australians to sneak into HBO Now to see what all the fuss is about. There's even a one-month free trial. The biggest hurdle is that until July you can only sign up via an iPhone, iPad or Apple TV. Once you've created your HBO Now account you can also watch via a Flash-enabled web browser, with the service due to expand to other home entertainment devices later in the year. If you can get your hands on an Apple device then it's not hard to bluff your way in to HBO Now. You just need to create a US iTunes account, top it up with US iTunes vouchers and then set up a VPN or DNS-based geo-dodging method. HBO doesn't insist that you have a valid US credit card linked to your iTunes account, which is often the biggest hurdle to accessing geo-blocked services. HBO Now is a very slick offering, letting you tap into the vast back catalogue of HBO original programming – shows you won't find on Netflix because they're mortal enemies. You'll also find a few hundred movies along with documentaries and stand up comedy specials. If the picture quality of the previous seasons of Game of Thrones available on HBO Now is anything to go by, this new season will look pretty good streamed straight from the source. Considering there's no Foxtel Play app for the Apple TV, HBO Now is a tempting option for Australian Apple fans — perhaps putting the savings towards a US Netflix subscription to broaden your viewing habits. The HBO Now iPhone and iPad apps are the icing on the cake.

Of course once you allow for the US exchange rate, foreign transaction fees and geo-dodging costs to watch HBO Now you're only saving less than $10 per month compared to watching Game of Thrones on Foxtel Play. In return Foxtel Play offers a wealth of extra content which isn't available via HBO Now. Unless you're absolutely determined to stick it to Foxtel, you might crunch the numbers and decide that Foxtel Play offers better value for your household than HBO Now. If neither Foxtel, Foxtel Play or HBO Now are for you, your only legitimate options come after the season has initially aired. Foxtel rivals like Apple iTunes, Google Play, Quickflix and EzyFlix will start selling the new episodes once Foxtel has finished screening the entire season in June (although last season Apple left iTunes pay-per-view customers waiting for months without explanation, which may well happen again this year). Streaming prices differ but are often around $3 per episode. If you want to hold out for Season 5 on DVD and Blu-ray you might be waiting until February 2016, going on past seasons.

How will you watch Game of Thrones this season? It's true that HBO and Foxtel's deal screws Australian pay-per-view customers, but can you still justify piracy when there are cheap and easy legit options at your disposal?