NETFLIX is making a stand against proxies, unblockers and VPNs – stopping its subscribers watching films and TV shows exclusive to one geographic location.
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| UK Netflix customers will no longer be able to unblock and watch content from US Netflix |
Netflix subscribers who tune into the hugely popular streaming site using proxies, unblockers or VPNs were this week dealt a huge blow.
The US video on-demand provider is set to clamp down on the use of unblockers which circumvent the regional-restrictions and let subscribers access shows and films from outside their borders.
Films and TV shows on Netflix vary between countries based on the service's distribution deals with film studios and TV networks.
Virtual Private Networks, dubbed VPNs, can be used to make your device appear as if it is residing in another country – and unlock a new range of geo-locked Netflix shows.
But Netflix will now restrict users to the content available in their own country.
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| UK Netflix subscribers can currently access 2,875 films and TV series |
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| Netflix rolled out to a further 130 countries earlier this month |
That means customers in the UK, Australia, US and elsewhere will no longer be able to access the full 14,000 films and TV shows available to Netflix customers across the globe.
For reference, UK Netflix subscribers can currently access 2,875 films and TV series across all genres.
The news comes after a Reddit users built a standalone Windows and Mac OS app, SmartFlix, which aggregates Netflix content from across the world.
According to the US service's terms of service, subscribers are not allowed to access films and TV shows from other regions.
But as the on-demand video streaming service moves to become the world's first global television network, it is set to become increasingly tough on VPNs.
Vice President of Content Delivery Architecture at Netflix, David Fullagar addressed the issue in an official blog post.
He wrote: "If all of our content were globally available, there wouldn’t be a reason for members to use proxies or “unblockers” to fool our systems into thinking they’re in a different country than they’re actually in.
"We are making progress in licensing content across the world and, as of last week, now offer the Netflix service in 190 countries, but we have a ways to go before we can offer people the same films and TV series everywhere.
Over time, we anticipate being able to do so. In the meantime, we will continue to respect and enforce content licensing by geographic location.
"Some members use proxies or “unblockers” to access titles available outside their territory. To address this, we employ the same or similar measures other firms do.
"This technology continues to evolve and we are evolving with it. That means in coming weeks, those using proxies and unblockers will only be able to access the service in the country where they currently are.
"We are confident this change won’t impact members not using proxies."
Netflix is increasingly moving its focus on original content, which it is free to distribute across the 190 countries where it operates.
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