
EU Paramount/Sky ruling may end geoblocking within Europe - MaurizioP
https://thestack.com/cloud/2016/07/26/eu-paramountsky-ruling-may-end-geoblocking-within-europe/
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jamesbrownuhh
"It may be no coincidence that in the last two weeks Paramount has struck a
deal with Netflix to stream new episodes of the much-awaited 2017 Star Trek
reboot globally within 24 hours of network broadcast."

Er, it certainly would be a coincidence, since the EU investigation began some
time before the Star Trek reboot was even conceived, and additionally since no
such distribution deal between Paramount and Netflix exists, since Star Trek
in its TV form is a CBS property.

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icebraining
_additionally since no such distribution deal between Paramount and Netflix
exists, since Star Trek in its TV form is a CBS property._

They seem to be confusing Paramount Pictures (the studio in question) with
Paramount Television (which was absorbed by CBS).

~~~
dragonwriter
They are probably actually confusing Paramount Television (which was a name
retained by CBS after the CBS/Viacom split through 2009, when the unit was
renamed CBS Television Studios) with Paramount Television (the unit of
Paramount Pictures, which resurrected the unit name in 2014 or so.)

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CalRobert
Can anyone with knowledge on the issue comment on whether this will affect
state-run entities, like BBC and RTE? It seems unlikely that nationally-funded
organizations will be made to cover bandwidth to stream outside their
countries.

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gioele
> It seems unlikely that nationally-funded organizations will be made to cover
> bandwidth to stream outside their countries.

I have been listening for years and from all around the world to FIP, BBC
Radio 2/3/4, RAI Radio 2/3, Deutschlandradio Kultur and NPR. I do not see why
TV should be treated differently.

Maybe Europe just needs to ask the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) to focus
more on Internet and set up a state-run/sponsored network of multicast/unicast
servers that can take care of broadcasting radio and TV over IP. The pan-
european university network GÉANT is based on a similar concept and has been
working very well (much better than commercial operators) for decades.

~~~
CalRobert
As have I, but that is thanks to the largess of the those organisations, not
any legal directive (as far as I'm aware).

It's pretty common for state-funded media to support audio streaming. However,
video is much less common. If a person outside the UK (using a plain-old
internet connection) tries to access BBC video online they are told they can't
due to their location. This includes locations within the EU; I am presented
with this message from Dublin.

Given that people in the UK and Ireland (and maybe elsewhere) pay annual fees
to support the BBC and RTE and pay for production, licensing, etc. with those
fees, it that they shouldn't be mandated to provide that service to people in
other countries.

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shafiqissani
Awesome! Love EU I must say

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billpg
Is this why Murdoch wants the UK to leave the EU?

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tankenmate
it is most likely a contributor. Sky pursued a pub owner through the courts
nearly a decade ago because she got a Sky satellite subscription in Greece
(much cheaper than the UK) and then brought the device and the CAM (the Sky
card) back to the UK to show to her patrons. She argued that the EU has free
flow of goods and services (which it does), but it doesn't (yet) have unified
licensing. She wound up winning her case. Cases like this have forced the EC
to have a look at the issue with more vigour.

If the UK decides to stay in the EEA (European Economic Area) then the chances
are very high that these rules will still apply to the UK; i.e. get a Sky
subscription from Greece or Cyprus and watch it in the UK. It would also force
Sky to pay much much more for Europe wide exclusive movie deals.

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United857
It seems to me the only reason why we have different countries having
different distributors for the same content (therefore why geoblocking is
needed) is a relic from the days where terrestrial broadcasting was the only
distribution mechanism, and hence limited range (because each broadcaster
owned the infrastructure in each place)

In this day and age where digital distribution means automatic global reach,
is there any reason why this business model continues to exist?

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chopin
It makes more money.

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mindcrash
Poor Netflix, all those subscribers lost FOR NOTHING.

Hope this means the blockade will end soon. Will be better for both us
consumers and Netflix.

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United857
This is welcome, but I wonder how Brexit will affect all this in the long run.

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mindcrash
Not so much I guess for memberstates excluding Britain, because since this is
a conclusion made by the EC it can be used as precedence in any other member
state even though it has been brought up in the UK pre-Brexit.

The situation in Britain however could be overturned the moment article 50
gets activated and its no longer a EU member state (and thus no longer falls
under its legislation).

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skoczymroczny
Unfortunately, ending geoblocking also means ending regional pricing :/

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lagadu
Why? They can still charge different amounts based on the country of the card
that's making a purchase. Spotify is an example of this.

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tankenmate
Sure, but it also means that people can use a card from a different country to
buy the much cheaper version to watch at home.

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lagadu
Yes, in fact I do that myself. But a credit/debit card from a different
country requires that you have or have had in the past residence there,
generally speaking and once you have addresses in multiple countries there's
very little that can be done to control that.

