A Semi-Literate Techie and Netflix VPN Blocking

February 24, 2016 netflix vpn opinion

Netflix recently started blocking VPNs and proxies because content owners and broadcasters were unhappy because users were watching content available in other countries instead of paying extra to watch it in their own country.

So what would someone who has access to and is technical enough to figure out how to use a VPN or proxy to bypass geolocation checks? Of course they would use the samve VPN or proxy to illegally obtain that content. Instead of content creators being paid by Netflix through subscribers, the creators miss out on the revenue and drive their biggest fans to piracy.

Netflix has a very nice content discovery setup which really make it easy to find obscure shows that you wouldn’t ordinarily view. Luckily we have sites like instantwatcher (US/Canada) and moreflicks (UK) that tie into the Netflix API and publicly make available content on Netflix that is popular, new, and noteworthy.

Many would rather pay a higher flat fee to watch more content be nickled-and-dimed just to watch a show or movie. Look at how Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu have thrived by providind an all-you-can watch service despite having older shows and movies. If Netflix wasn’t available then I still wouldn’t pay a few bucks every time I wanted to watch a movie. The risk of getting a bad movie or having it expire before I finish is not worth it.