14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that Netflix has thought of a better way to prevent people who use virtual private networks from watching shows which have not been made available for their country.
If at the beginning of the year the rumor spread that Netflix would start blocking people from other regions of the world from accessing the content available exclusively for their U.S. subscribers, it would seem that they are starting to reconsider this move.
Torrent Freak revealed that Netflix is actually thinking of getting rid of the geoblocking method for good and extend its services globally.
To prove this point, we have Australia’s case where earlier this month Netflix subscribers were given the chance to use the U.S. version legally.
Not that they had not been using it before with a little help from their VPNs, but at least now everything is legit and they won’t have to worry about being called “pirates” just because they want to have access to all the content put forward by Netflix.
But what does Hollywood have to say about this?
But if this is the case and if Netflix is indeed trying to extend its service area, then how will they manage to convince Hollywood that this is a good idea?
Reed Hastings, the mastermind behind Netflix, said in an interview for Gizmodo that “The basic solution is for Netflix to get global and have its content be the same all around the world so there’s no incentive to [use a VPN].”
He further suggested that it’s the industry that has to take the big step here and agree to offer the same content for all the regions of the world.
However, it is not very likely that Hollywood will go with this offer and start offering its content globally, so Netflix might have to deal with VPN piracy for quite a while.
Meanwhile, Netflix has no power against Hollywood’s licensing agreements, so despite the fact that the Netflix CEO has come forward to express his intention to go global, we might have to wait some more before jumping for joy at the news as not all things depend on him.