Australian viewers sneaking across the border to pay for streaming video services

[Len]

Australian viewers still sneaking across the border to pay for better streaming video Services

While Australia’s piracy crackdown has seemingly curbed our enthusiasm for the BitTorrent channel, Aussies are still sneaking across the border and tricking US video services into taking their money.

Efforts to block piracy-friendly websites have seemingly halved the number of Australians visiting sites like The Pirate Bay, although these figures don’t account for Aussies who mask their location – using a proxy server, Virtual Private Network or DNS-based workaround – so they appear to be overseas.

That said, not all Australians mask their location in order to avoid paying for their favourite movies and TV shows. For some viewers it’s the very opposite – they pretend to be abroad so they can bypass geoblocking and force foreign video services to take their money.

The copyright police seem more interested in hunting down pirates than chasing those who slyly shop abroad. Instead, local rights holders like Foxtel have been the ones to cry foul, having paid top dollar for exclusive local rights to content which geododgers are watching via other avenues.

So what can Aussies watch online if they’re prepared to bend the rules rather than break the law?

For starters, video giants like Netflix, Amazon and Apple’s iTunes Store all offer Americans more timely and affordable access to a much wider range of content. By pretending they’re in Hollywood, Australians can also bluff their way into paid services like HBO Now and Hulu, as well as the free catch up services from the major US broadcasters.

Often the hardest part is tricking overseas services into taking your money. While you might try foreign gift cards, you often still need a valid US credit card attached to your account. Sometimes you can get around this by linking an Australian-bought travel debit card to a US postal address – preferably somewhere which doesn’t slug you with state-based sales tax.

Of course in a multicultural country like Australia we’re not just interested in US television and Hollywood blockbusters. Ex-pats can bluff their way into services around the world, made easier if family or friends can hook you up with a local payment method.

The fact some people go out of their way to pay for foreign content rather than resort to piracy lends weight to the argument that piracy is primarily an issue of pricing and availability. Most people will do the right thing if they believe they’re getting a fair deal. Unfortunately, Australian viewers often get a raw deal at the hands of local broadcasters.

Some Aussie geododgers tap into US services because they want to watch shows at the same time as US viewers to avoid online spoilers. While Australian broadcasters make an effort to fast-track some shows, such as Foxtel with HBO’s Game of Thrones, many other programs lag months behind the US broadcast schedule.

Other content may never officially reach our shores, leaving piracy or geododging as the only options for local viewers who are sick of Australians being treated as second class citizens.

As Netflix and Amazon expand globally, the streaming giants are cracking down on geododgers, although where there's a will, there's a way. Thankfully they're also reducing the need for viewers to sneak into the US library.

Streaming services are at the mercy of regional rights deals when they license content from the major studios. Not so with their own shows, like Netflix's House of Cards and Amazon's The Grand Tour, which are usually released across the world the same day.

As these streaming giants wrestle control from traditional broadcasters, Australians no longer need to sneak past the border guards in order to keep up with their favourite shows.