Netflix crackdown hits some New Zealanders

Scattered reports have emerged of Netflix shutting out New Zeanders who use unblocking services to access the larger Netflix US.

Some on social media have taken it badly. Hawke' Bay man Rod Drury tweeted "Nooooooo" as word started to spread.

Yet initial indications are that, as across the ditch, the crackdown is very limited in scope and easy to dodge.

Netflix has pledged to crack down on those using unblockers; NBR reported over the weekend that some Australians using the uFlix service were temporarily blocked from accessing Netflix US — but uFlix also told NBR it soon found a workaround.

One Verified NBR commentor, whom NBR considers a trusted source, says he uses Ublock-us to access Netflix US, but has seen the same on-screen message as uFlix users. That is:

 "You seem to be using an unblocker or proxy. Please turn off any of these services and try again."

On Reddit, a handful of users say they have also had problems. As across the Tasman, workarounds have proved easy.

The Herald quotes a single user who claims to have been blocked during X-Files (curious since the new series of the hit show, like all new Fox content, streams through the part Fox-owned Hulu; Netflix has at times featured back-catalogue episodes).

uFlix told NBR only around 5% of its customers were blocked before it found a fix.

The company added in a message to NBR, "The blocking is currently not aggressive and we believe for the moment they [Netflix] are only testing the new blocking methods on their customers."

The question remains: is this Netflix posturing to calm rights-holders (or at least local rights holders like Sky TV; content makers get to double-dip as they sell "exclusive" local rights and see those using unblockers pay for their content)? 

Will Netflix continue to police unblockers with a light hand, wary people will defect to commercial rivals, or piracy, if it pushes too hard. Or is this  just the beginning of a true crackdown?

Sky TV, Spark's Lightbox and others will be watching closely.

A Netflix spokesman said the company has no comment beyond what it stated in its blog post on the issue.

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