Sony Pictures mad at Netflix’s failure to block overseas VPN users

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I hate restrictions and that they region lock certain products.

Netflix is doing a good job letting us use VPN to access their stuff. However, netflix still sucks, not enough content.

When Netflix have brand new out in cinema movies, get back to me. Until then i will get my fix elsewhere. These damn movie companies needs to get with the times.
 
I can understand why they would be upset. Netflix does not have the rights to broadcast Breaking Bad in country A. However, all the people in country A are paying Netflix and using VPNs to watch Breaking Bad anyway. Netflix makes no effort to stop that, even though they haven't paid Sony for the rights to broadcast the series there, because it's free money for them.
It's not like Sony is mad people are paying to watch their show. But I imagine that A) If they wanted to sell the rights to the show in country A, then the rights are possibly devalued B) Netflix could operate officially in Country A if they aren't already, and purchase the rights to broadcast the show there the proper way
 
I can't wait for the day where all the studios see the money Netflix are making and launch their own services, because who needs 1 subscription when you can have 10?
 
There wouldn't be a need for VPN if netflix would be available everywhere and would have the same content. It doesn't. So STFU Sony.
 
jamesinclair said:
Wasn't breaking bad a unique situation where Netflix uk put up the episodes a day after the us airing?
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Your absolutely right that was true in breaking bads case. So Sony are barking up the wrong tree. For breaking bad fans in the UK we never needed a VPN, so where did they get this idea from? Unless it was american fans using a VPN to watch from the uk
 
Metalmarc said:
Your absolutely right that was true in breaking bass case. So Sony are barking up the wrong tree. For breaking bad fans in the UK we never needed a VPN, so where did they get this idea from? Unless it was american fans using a VPN to watch from the uk
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There's more to the world than the US and the UK.
 
Dunlop said:
They are not wrong

In Canada you can access US Netflix using my Canadian Netflix account and a VPN or a DNS redirection service. I don't know anyone who actually uses the Canadian version lol
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They're missing out. Canadian Netflix has become really good over the last year. Really good for new movies. It is also the only Netflix I know of to have Fresh Prince on it.

I basically just hop between the two while looking for something to watch. One time the DNS number that was supposed to be US gave me UK Netflix, which was a fun week. Too bad I can't seem to find a replacement for that one.
 
sangreal said:
They're mad that you're paying Netflix, who in turn is only paying Sony for US distribution rights.



They would prefer that Netflix pays them for worldwide rights if they are going to offer the service worldwide
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I agree with Sony's sentiments.

If so many people are watching and paying for Netflix across the world, then Netflix needs to start forking over more money.

Netflix is exploiting the VPN loophole to maximise profit, and that's not okay.

Of course, the way Sony goes about it by calling it "piracy" is stupid. It's clearly not piracy...you can never call a paying customer "a pirate." And the answer isn't for Netflix to try to block overseas VPN users...the answer is for Netflix to pay more money.
 
RulkezX said:
I can't wait for the day where all the studios see the money Netflix are making and launch their own services, because who needs 1 subscription when you can have 10?
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And they'll all have unskippable adverts.
 
FyreWulff said:
There's no real way to block a VPN. I mean, you could block the well known ones, but literally any IP address on the internet can potentially be providing a VPN.
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One of the points is over blocking payment from countries that shouldn't have access, which is what Sony does with PSN.
 
sangreal said:
They are not asking for some magic solution -- they just want Netflix to stop accepting payment methods from countries that Netflix does not operate in and therefore does not pay for rights in. Since they do not do this, yes they are offering it worldwide
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If they'll stop accepting credit cards from other countries, people'll just buy gift cards.
 
FyreWulff said:
There's no real way to block a VPN. I mean, you could block the well known ones, but literally any IP address on the internet can potentially be providing a VPN.
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I'm sure they can block it if they really wanted to.

1. Lock each account to the initial country people pick
2. Base it on billing info (although Paypal is an issue as they said)
3. Prevent changing countries more than once a month?
 
lol irony is i can do the exact same with Sony

infact im thinking about just using my US PSN as my go to account since shit is a ton cheaper
 
sangreal said:
Who said it was the consumers problem? My point is that Sony is not getting paid, and that is why they are upset. All these "You don't want my money?!" posts make no sense. They aren't getting your money, because nobody is paying them for those rights. Sony is complaining to and about Netflix here, not consumers.

Yes, Sony would probably rather you pirate a movie from some torrent than pay another company money for the movie without any cut for Sony.
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It makes no sense that Netflix isn't paying Sony... It's probably that Netflix pays for foreign users the same they would pay for US citizens, but Sony agreement with Netflix demands that for other countries the price is higher.
 
sangreal said:
They are not asking for some magic solution -- they just want Netflix to stop accepting payment methods from countries that Netflix does not operate in and therefore does not pay for rights in. Since they do not do this, yes they are offering it worldwide
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You can't access the service without being located in a country Netflix operates in. So no, their problem is with people using it from location they don't like.
 
frankie_baby said:
They do have a point though, if Netflix want to make all the stuff available to everyone then maybe they should start paying for worldwide rights
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Perhaps legally they would have. But since we are talking about digital content I never understood why content needs to be licensed in each region and why blocking consumers willing to pay is acceptable.

I think these are archaic licensing models needed when there were a physical media involved, but now it needs to die.
 
I'm using a VPN in Australia to access Netflix. To watch Breaking Bad on tv here I have two options:

A) Pay $90 a month to the cable company monopoly just to get access to the one channel which shows breaking bad.

B) Watch it over 1 year behind the US on a free to air channel which plays the episodes starting at 11pm

Fuck that. Maybe try negotiating better contracts Sony.
 
Syntsui said:
Is there anything that can be done though? Don't extensions like Hola pretty much works on every site?
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They could started logging everyone's physical address. For example, if you have a DVD subscription with Netflix then Hola Unblocker usually doesn't work, because Netflix has your physical address (at least here in the US).
 
Syntsui said:
Is there anything that can be done though? Don't extensions like Hola pretty much works on every site?
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I assume Netflix could simply cancel/block accounts based on the geolocation. Analyze the IPs/location and in doubt block the account. This ain't exactly rocket science. Of course you can't really get people that set up an account using a foreign address and maybe even a foreign credit card, but e.g. those that simply use the same account and switch regions via VPN.
I don't use a VPN, but I'm glad Netflix hasn't introduced draconic measures to battle it.
 
mr-chow-haha4efas.gif

Geolocking is the worst thing ever.

Dunlop said:
I have that covered with Hulu plus :P

Which is a good example of a company that actively wants to keep out non US residents
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It's not even that difficult to use Hulu Plus outside the US to be honest.
 
WarrenMax007 said:
If they'll stop accepting credit cards from other countries, people'll just buy gift cards.
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Sure, but it is a reasonable step. Nothing in this email suggests they're looking for miracles. The complaint is that Netflix is purposefully making this easy because it makes Netflix more money.

LukasTaves said:
It makes no sense that Netflix isn't paying Sony... It's probably that Netflix pays for foreign users the same they would pay for US citizens, but Sony agreement with Netflix demands that for other countries the price is higher.
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There are two problems with that 1)The value of the US streaming rights aren't (or shouldn't) be derived from Netflix's specific subscriber numbers but the size of the US streaming market. Netflix has a lot of competitors in the US 2) It hurts Sony's ability to work with (ie get paid by) other partners that actually want to pay for local rights in their respective countries.

zou said:
You can't access the service without being located in a country Netflix operates in. So no, their problem is with people using it from location they don't like.
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Are we reading the same email? Their example is Australia, which Netflix does not operate in but will happily take money from Australians and serve them Sony media with the full knowledge that they are Australians in Australia (because their credit card says so)
 
I almost wish we received leaks like this for all studios. It goes to show just how incompetent these studios truly are - despite what some people would like to believe.
 
Aiii said:
It is against no law -that I know of- to subscribe and use a service that is available in another country. So it cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be called illegal.
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You're right (at least the last time I checked) but the problem is that it's against the Terms of Service, because Sony licenses content under the pretense that it's only going to be viewed by a certain audience, which is how the deals for the content are made. Basically it makes it that much harder for companies to license things twice (like for Canada) or for the price they want because of where the viewers are.

Companies could fix this by not being assbackward fools and working on a global scale, but I'm yet to see many who understand that. People want to pay for content, but not if you make it hard for them.
 
I'm on Sony's side on this one. Netflix is paying Sony for the rights to stream their content in the US and looking the other way when people in other regions stream it. If you're watching Sony content on Netflix from another region, Sony essentially isn't getting paid for it.

I think the solution is to sell streaming rights based on the number of customers, not based on the region.
 
Hari Seldon said:
They are saying to block it at the account level and not IP location based.
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Streaming accounts don't have your home address stored anywhere.

I just double checked, too. Address is nowhere in the account, and the field to update your credit card doesn't even ask for your address.
 
To be honest Sony has a point but to be really honest I couldn't care less when corporate greed smacks itself in the face.
 
I actually got a popup on netflix yesterday saying: travelling with netflix? You might notice the selection being different from what you are used to, enjoy.

Netflix don't give a fuck.
 
Every form of consumer that doesn't abide exactly by their rules is called a pirate.

You are giving money to Netflix (and to them) but because you are not in the right country is just the same as illegally downloading their stuff.

These companies need to get a gripe and realize that they are part of the problem and geo restrictions when the internet exist are dumb and insulting paying costumers is, again, idiotic.

It's almost as bad as "you use Spotify you are a pirate" mindset.
 
kiguel182 said:
Every form of consumer that doesn't abide exactly by their rules is called a pirate.

You are giving money to Netflix (and to them) but because you are not in the right country is just the same as illegally downloading their stuff.

These companies need to get a gripe and realize that they are part of the problem and geo restrictions when the internet exist are dumb and insulting paying costumers is, again, idiotic.

It's almost as bad as "you use Spotify you are a pirate" mindset.
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You're a pirate if you don't buy DVDs/Blu-Rays and music CDs.
 
zephervack said:
So Sony prefers that people dont pay them at all?

Because if you block Netflix in those countries, people are not suddenly going to stop watching them, they will just resort to Flash sites/Torrents/ Usenet.
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I'm not sticking up for them, but Sony isn't seeing any additional money from overseas subscribers to Netflix because the terms of the deal in question only cover the US. Sony gets paid by Netflix. So if Netflix has a bigger money to pool that money from via overseas subscribers, it only benefits Netflix. Sony doesn't see any additional money from them, which is why they're upset.
 
Enco said:
You're a pirate if you don't buy DVDs/Blu-Rays and music CDs.
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It's funny how this is their attitude while at the same time allowing the other types of service.

If they want to just sell those and name-call everyone that doesn't buy them why even allow Netflix?

This guys are just something else.

EDIT: Also, I'm probably a pirate too since I use PS+. I'm guessing they have a similar reasoning towards that. Or buying games from the US PSN.
 
FyreWulff said:
Streaming accounts don't have your home address stored anywhere.

I just double checked, too. Address is nowhere in the account, and the field to update your credit card doesn't even ask for your address.
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The CC number does provide enough information though, since it identifies the issuing bank
thankfully most places have the sense to not check that, as some money is better than no money
 
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