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The irony is that Game of Thrones is big and successful enough that it probably could make a tidy profit even in the alternative model you mentioned and despite being one of the most pirated shows in the world.

The difficulty with the "adapt or die" reasoning isn't GoT, it's shows 2-10 on the popularity chart, where show 2 has only a fraction of the audience and brings in only a fraction of the revenue but its fans still want the same production values.