New Zealand will no longer be able to watch US Netflix

Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings. Photo / Bloomberg

• Many Neflix viewers use 'proxies' to stream content unavailable locally from the US service.
• Netflix has just launched in India, China and Russia, making the streaming service now available in 190 countries worldwide.
• Netflix now says it's moving to stamp out the use of proxies and unblockers.

Subscribers of video-streaming service provider Netflix will no longer be able to use proxies to watch content not available in their home country.

Subscribers often resort to proxies, or servers that facilitate access to internet content not available locally, to watch Netflix's popular shows such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black.

"If all of our content were globally available, there wouldn't be a reason for members to use proxies or unblockers," David Fullagar, Netflix's vice president of content delivery architecture, wrote in a blog.

The company said it would clamp down on these proxies or unblockers in a few weeks.

The announcement comes just a week after Netflix went live in more than 130 countries, covering almost the entire globe except China.

Netflix said at the time that all of its shows would not be available immediately to subscribers in certain countries, but that it was working towards resolving that.

"Ultimately, the aim is to provide a service around the world that is more similar than not.

Using VPNs or proxies to virtually cross borders violates Netflix's terms of use because of licensing restrictions on TV shows and movies," a Netflix spokesperson told Reuters. India, Nigeria, Russia and Saudi Arabia were among the 130 countries where the service was launched last week.

"The strategy is simple - they have a responsibility to content owners to only show that content in the geographies for which they have a licence. Enforcing those restrictions is a Netflix responsibility," Brian Blau, research director at Gartner, told Reuters.

Sceptical Netflix will really geolock hard. Too much Revenue at risk and will 10x illegal downloading. Should create global plan

— Rod Drury (@roddrury) January 14, 2016

As long as I still get to watch Fuller House please US Netflix!! 😩

— Loren McEwan (@LorenRose_NZ) January 14, 2016

@AliceBrine It's not regulatory, it's because Netflix doesn't own the rights to screen it in NZ

— Jaimee (@JaimeeSara) January 14, 2016

@LivvyAllison Launching in every country not the same as gaining content rights to a series/movie in any given country. Netflix NZ starved

— Chris Keall (@ChrisKeall) January 14, 2016