Travelling With Netflix: Geoblocking To Be Eased In The EU

Isn't it annoying that when you travel in the EU, some of your online movie and TV subscriptions do not work? This is due to the fact that services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and HBO Now apply geoblocking, a geographically-based restriction that prevents programming from being streamed in countries where they haven’t been licensed.

As reported by  EUobserver, this will soon be over, as the European Parliament and national governments have struck a deal on service portability. After the deal becomes law, European consumers will be able to use their digital subscriptions outside their home countries and while traveling around the EU. 

In practice, an Italian subscriber of on-demand service, Sky Now TV, will be able to access the same library of movies and series while on a business trip in Belgium or a holiday in Spain. Apart from the films and shows, the rules will also affect online subscriptions to music services, ebooks, video games and sporting events.

The EUobserver article offers a comprehensible read, managing not to swamp readers with details related to the intricate EU legislation process. Instead, it gives voice to both the skeptics and the optimists of the new deal, and shows that, although being an important step, a lot of work is still needed in terms of geoblocking. In fact, the proposed rule would be practically "irrelevant" for the 26% of EU citizens who do not travel at all.