Netflix blocking proxies 

"wiffleballtony" (wiffleballtony) 01/15/2016 at 12:28 • Filed to: None

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Last time I checked we all pay a subscription fee to view content Netflix has already licensed. Why do they seem to think it’s fair to have geographic restrictions? EDIT: The last question was more rhetorical about the general lack of freedom of information that seems to be pervasive in legal systems.

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CB > wiffleballtony 01/15/2016 at 12:31

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Because they may only have the rights to certain movies/shows in certain countries?

spanfucker retire bitch > wiffleballtony 01/15/2016 at 12:33

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If Netflix had their way, they’d stream every last bit of content to every person on Earth.

It’s not up to them though. Any content that isn’t theirs (so, most of their catalog) comes with draconian and labyrinthine licensing agreements about where and how it can be streamed.

Übel > wiffleballtony 01/15/2016 at 12:33

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Because laws and distributors vary between countries, so Netflix may be able to get licensing to stream something in the UK but not in the US. You can’t really blame Netflix for this move, it’s in their best interest to have as much available in as many places as possible, but I’m sure it’s the production companies putting pressure on them to crack down.

Margin Of Error > wiffleballtony 01/15/2016 at 12:37

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Because freaking CRTC in Canada and its socialistic measures.

HammerheadFistpunch > Übel 01/15/2016 at 12:38

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exactly this, have you noticed that the music on Top Gear streaming on netflix sucks? its because they had to re-edit the show to remove all the good music they couldn’t use.

wiffleballtony > Übel 01/15/2016 at 12:39

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I don’t see how it’s in their best interest to spend time and resources to restrict your paying customers. It reminds me of China telling Google to censor itself.

JGrabowMSt > wiffleballtony 01/15/2016 at 12:40

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We don’t pay for YouTube (unless you have YouTube Red), and it’s the exact same thing. International laws are a difficult territory, especially when the lawyers are always looking for a reason to file a case.

You’re paying for access to their interface mostly, and you’re sharing the licensing cost with everyone else in your area for that content. When it comes to not being allowed to watch certain content, unfortunately it’s just how things are.

wiffleballtony > spanfucker retire bitch 01/15/2016 at 12:40

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I’d tell the production companies complaining about it to pound sand. Netflix is the 800 pound gorilla in the online streaming world.

Cash Rewards > wiffleballtony 01/15/2016 at 12:44

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Because otherwise they’re likely in violation of signed contracts, and financially/legally liable, which outweighs satisfying every customer. And if you don’t play nice with the companies providing your content, they stop providing content altogether, and nobody gets anything

Rico > wiffleballtony 01/15/2016 at 12:46

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I’m glad you posted this, I am going to paste my question I asked on the gizmodo post here to see what the answer might be:

How does it hurt Netflix? If they ignored the problem or “let’s not and say we did” would there be some dire consequences? Maybe I’m ignorant about how this stuff works but if it’s between pirating a show or using a VPN while still paying your monthly fee I’m sure the latter is more appealing to Netflix.

Übel > wiffleballtony 01/15/2016 at 12:46

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Because if they don’t do it, the distributors will pull their content and put it Hulu or Amazon, or nowhere at all. They may be the biggest boy, but they aren’t the only boy, and shows and movies are pulled off Netflix all the time.

Remember, the more content Netflix has, the more people want to use Netflix. “More content” is literally the only end-goal for Netflix, so there is no reason for them to limit distribution of the content they have unless the end result would be them ultimately having less content.

Rico > Cash Rewards 01/15/2016 at 12:46

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But can’t they say they are cracking down on the problem?

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > wiffleballtony 01/15/2016 at 12:47

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Becau$e rea$on$. Very $tupid rea$on$.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > wiffleballtony 01/15/2016 at 12:49

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Okay, let’s say a company made a show. They made deals with a network to carry it in the US. Then they go overseas and that original network has no equivalent over there, or they “partner” with someone else. That network might make their own shows but also make deals with foreign ones to fill out a schedule.

Netflix makes agreement with Network A to show Sitcom-1. Netflix goes to another country but the agreement with network A for sitcom-1 is invalid since Network B holds the rights to it. BUT! Network-B is more than happy to let them stream Sitcom-2. If they want sitcom-1, then B wants a lot of extra fees and agreements. So netflix doesn’t bother because one of those might upset A which throws the whole agreement off.

Welcome to economics. The game where no one wins, but some lose less than others.

BrtStlnd > wiffleballtony 01/15/2016 at 12:50

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No not at all, they don’t OWN the content that they’re making available. The people that produced it do, and they have contracts in place concerning where that content can be distributed.

Cash Rewards > Rico 01/15/2016 at 12:51

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Not a lawyer, but I’d imagine just saying so wouldn’t hold up in court.

Cash Rewards > wiffleballtony 01/15/2016 at 12:52

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No one had loyalty to Netflix though. If a company moved all their content to hulu, would you say “well, now I’m not watching it”? No, you’d just go sign up for hulu

gin-san - shitpost specialist > Margin Of Error 01/15/2016 at 12:54

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This is what I previously believed but isn’t necessarily correct; just because Netflix has licensing for content in one country doesn’t necessarily mean licensing is valid in a different country (hence differences in Netflix Canada/US).

To their credit, Canada has gotten a hell of a lot better than when I first signed up; I used to use Netflix US all the time but cancelled my proxy use a couple of years ago when I found that I was using the Canadian one more often, and I can’t say I really miss the US one.

Not protecting the CRTC, but the real problem is with whoever holds the rights for the contents rather than Netflix or the CRTC. I'm hoping with Netflix, Amazon, etc. that global licensing deals become more common because geo-blocking is ridiculous in this day and age.

wiffleballtony > Cash Rewards 01/15/2016 at 13:04

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Hell no. Hulu and it’s ads can go to hell.

wiffleballtony > Cash Rewards 01/15/2016 at 13:06

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So basically you’re saying that the geo gates they already had aren’t enough and that they’d be in breach of contract if they didn’t do this?

spanfucker retire bitch > wiffleballtony 01/15/2016 at 13:06

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Then Netflix loses all of that content because none of the content owners want to work with them anymore.

But lo and behold, Amazon is more than happy to accomodate their stupid licensing wishes. Now who’s no longer the 800lb gorilla in the room?

wiffleballtony > spanfucker retire bitch 01/15/2016 at 13:08

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You think they’d pull their content for not putting in additional measures outside of the existing geo gates which check for location?

It's a "Porch-uh" > HammerheadFistpunch 01/15/2016 at 13:10

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I made the mistake of watching TG on BBC America once. Never again.

Cash Rewards > wiffleballtony 01/15/2016 at 13:12

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Just guessing, but it’s likely. If I rent a car, and it gets jacked because I left it unlocked, with the keys in the ignition, that’s probably on me. Netflix probably had some similar responsibility to ensure the content they paid for is being used appropriately. And if the work around if well known and they allow it to continue, it might be a problem for them.

wiffleballtony > Cash Rewards 01/15/2016 at 13:21

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Fair enough.

spanfucker retire bitch > wiffleballtony 01/15/2016 at 13:39

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Yes. They have those bullshit licensing schemes to get more money. If somebody can just get around with a VPN or proxy, that media licensing company isn’t seeing that extra filthy lucre.

They are absolutely that greedy and spiteful.

wiffleballtony > spanfucker retire bitch 01/15/2016 at 13:41

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That’s crazy.