So many VPNs (NordVPN, Surfshark, etc.) promote using their service to access content available in different countries. It just seems to me like these services would block access to users with VPNs.
In: Technology
When a TV show, say a Korean drama is produced, it is typically only distributed in its home country. If a business in another country sees that the Korean drama is successful, and thinks it would be successful in their country as well. They may approach the original distributor for permission to distribute the show in their own country. This is often with the caveat that nobody else be given permission to distribute the show in the same country. (This is called syndication)
VPNs allow users to bypass regional restrictions, which effectively nullifies the syndicator’s exclusive rights to distribution in a given region.
Thus, streaming services will do everything in their power to prevent customers from using VPNs in order to preserve the distribution rights they have established for each region in which they operate.
Note that in this situation, streaming services are often both the producers of some shows, and syndicators of others, which means that while they stand to benefit from VPN users in some cases, they also stand to lose business if, for example, users can access a show they’ve syndicated for a lower price on another streaming service.
(For a real life example, Schitts Creek is a show produced by CBC in Canada, and is therefore available for free to Canadians. Americans using a VPN can pretend to be Canadians to see the show for free rather than buying a Hulu subscription. Hulu paid for the rights to distribute the show, so they have an incentive to prevent potential customers from using a VPN.)
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