HBO will once again not be providing critics with advance previews of Game of Thrones episodes.
Screeners were also withheld for season 6 after the first four episodes of season 5 – originating from a screener DVD – wound up online days before the season premiered.
For example, Netflix provided access to the entirety of HoC season 5 to us almost a month before it dropped.
Game of Thrones is pretty much unique in this sense.