Netflix’s international restrictions continue to blight the service, but the company is reportedly looking to introduce Netflix Global, which will break down those barriers and bring the same service to subscribers worldwide.
The platform currently sees its programming divided between countries, with some shows accessible in the US not being able to view in the UK and vice versa. Netflix Global would be a ground-breaking step away from this format, and would spell the end of workaround services such as UnBlock-Us.
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Many Netflix subscribers have been using proxy services and VPNs in order to gain access to shows and movies available in other regions, and thus far the company has been making attempts to block this kind of behavior rather than offer a reasonable alternative to its customers. However, a statement from CEO Reed Hastings suggests that Netflix is now looking at how to introduce the same service worldwide, with them planning to make it a global platform for streaming rather than catering to the few select regions in which it is currently available.
Hastings said: “The VPN thing is a small little asterisk compared to piracy. Piracy is really the problem around the world.”
He continued: “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]. Then we can work on the more important part which is piracy.
“The key thing about piracy is that some fraction of it is because [users] couldn’t get the content. That part we can fix.
“Some part of piracy however is because they just don’t want to pay. That’s a harder part. As an industry, we need to fix global content.”
While proxy services and VPNs wouldn’t directly harm Netflix’s bottom line given that a Netflix subscription is still required in order to use them, even though companies such as UnBlock-Us charge a small fee to their users, therefore making a profit from the service they provide. However, privacy would certainly harm the company’s finances, much like it has done with the television and film industry in general, so it’s no surprise that Hastings and his employees want to tackle that issue head-on.
It remains to be seen whether deals can be arranged with broadcasters in order to make a global Netflix a reality, but we’d imagine that they’re hard at work on ensuring that consumers’ willingness to turn to piracy is nullified by offering a service that provides access to a huge library of titles that aren’t region locked.
