Did you ever try to stream a movie or TV series on the internet, only to be met with that infuriating statement: “This content is not available in your area”? You’re definitely not alone. That intangible border, geo-blocking, is one which has been encountered by all web users at some point, especially if you are a streaming addict.
But why, oh why, do they do that, anyway? The web is meant to be boundary-less, right? Actually, geo-blocking is all tangled up in a pretty messy mix of legal deals, business strategies, and cultural mores. Let’s lay them all out in plain English.
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What Is Geo-Blocking, Really?
Geo-blocking is a technique used by websites in order to manage who can look at what according to the location of the individual. It is somewhat like being stopped at the door of a concert venue because your ticket is invalid in the current city.
Streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ use your IP address (basically your digital location tag) to figure out where you’re watching from. If your country doesn’t have the rights to stream a particular show or movie, you’ll get blocked.
It feels unfair, sure, especially when you’re paying for a service. But there’s a reason why it works this way.
The Big Reason: Copyrights and Licensing
If a studio produced a hit, they don’t want to profit from it in a single location alone. They want to profit from it everywhere. So, they don’t sell it all at once – they sell it by territory to multiple networks or streaming services.
Netflix might hold the rights to show it in Canada, but not in Germany. Otherwise, an Australian domestic TV station acquired the rights. Those are contractual arrangements, and they’d be disastrous to break.
So even if a site could technically show it to all of humanity, their hands are tied. Geo-blocking is how they keep themselves within the law.
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It’s Also About Money: Market Segmentation
Besides the legal, there is a pretty self-evident business justification for geo-blocking too: price and market control.
Online streaming sites tier their prices and content by country. A $6 monthly subscription in one country might be $16 in another, based on local earning levels, competition, and locals’ willingness to pay.
Without geo-blocking, everybody would just subscribe where it is cheapest and watch the whole library wherever. That would kill the entire model of pricing.
So, frustrating though it is, geo-blocking allows companies to make content cheaply in some areas and still be profitable elsewhere.
Don’t Forget Cultural and Legal Rules
It’s money and contracts, too. Each nation has its own rules on what can be displayed. Some nations ban violence, adult content, political agendas, or even the subject of humor allowed.
Sites must obey local law, or get shut down or fined. That is where geo-blocking comes in handy again. It lets companies customize content for different cultural and legal demands.
That being said, geo-blocking isn’t so much about blocking out the people. It’s also about blocking businesses from getting governments into hot water.
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So What Do People Do? They Find Workarounds
Well, internet users are clever people. If something is censored, there are ways to bypass it. Most of them were created for this purpose. That is where VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) come in. They hide your real location and make it seem like you’re browsing from some other location.
One of the examples is a VPN for Firestick, through which individuals can watch programs from other countries on television. For some streaming services, this is a violation of terms of use, but millions of users do it anyway. We recommend you check the terms of use first, to check whether you’d be violating them or not.
Others try to block and identify VPNs, while still, others seem to look the other way. Either way, this cat and mouse game is not going away for a bit longer yet.
A Glimpse of the Future: Global Rights?
All of this has called for calls for change. Why not just have worldwide streaming rights so that one just gets the same thing wherever one happens to be?
A couple of platforms are now headed in that direction. Netflix, for example, has gone to the trouble of purchasing world rights on its own productions. That’s why you can usually watch Stranger Things anywhere.
But sometimes, it doesn’t work out. Legacy content, other constituencies, and multi-year contracts make it hard to unravel the system as it stands in the dead of night.
But as streaming grows and borders get more flexible, we can expect to see more firms adopting universal access. It’s just going to take a little while.
Wrapping It Up
Geo-blocking is akin to a virtual “You can’t sit with us”. But if you pay attention closely enough, it’s not about keeping people out because it’s fun to keep people out. It’s about legal agreements, business models, and staying within the bounds of local laws.
Annoying, I suppose, when you are willing to pay for something, and yet you still cannot have what you desire… But reminding ourselves the reason geo-blocking exists brings things into perspective.
And who knows? With the pace at which technology and consumerism are changing, the fantasy of completely borderless streaming may not be as distant as one would imagine.
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FAQ’s
Why do streaming services use geo-blocking?
Streaming services use geo-blocking to comply with copyright and licensing agreements, control pricing in different markets, and follow local laws. Content rights are often sold by region, so a show available in one country may not be legally available in another.
Is it legal to bypass geo-blocking with a VPN?
Using a VPN to bypass geo-blocking is generally not illegal in most countries, but it may violate the streaming platform’s terms of service. This means your account could be suspended or restricted if detected. Always review the service’s terms before attempting to bypass restrictions.
Will geo-blocking ever be removed completely?
Some platforms are moving towards global streaming rights for their own productions, like Netflix Originals. However, due to existing regional contracts and laws, it’s unlikely that geo-blocking will disappear entirely in the near future.
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