Netflix has its limitations

Historically, studios and content owners have licensed their TV shows and movies by territory. Whether for traditional TV or Internet TV networks such as Netflix, we are contractually obliged to abide by these contracts and territorial restrictions.

This means that any Netflix member in a Southeast Asian country can watch only titles licensed for that country’s service, and under these restrictions, we are required to employ measures to prevent cross-border use.

Netflix’s goal is to deliver a global catalogue to our members without the use of proxies or virtual private network services. This keeps us pushing towards obtaining global rights from content owners. Unfortunately, this isn’t always possible, so differences exist between our catalogues in different countries. We are releasing hundreds of hours in original programming – movies, TV shows, documentaries and stand-up comedies – that will be globally available to all members at the same time.

Jessica Lee 

Netflix vice president of communications, Asia/The Straits Times/ANN