With the Netflix South Africa launch euphoria wearing off, early adopters have noticed the discrepancies between the local and US Netflix catalogues.<\/p>\n
Among the items missing from Netflix\u2019s South African line-up are its hit shows House of Cards and Orange is the New Black.<\/p>\n
The smaller library of content was expected, though \u2013 don\u2019t say we didn\u2019t warn you \u2013 and is less of a problem than the fact that the SA version is priced in US dollars.<\/p>\n
Paying the same price for access to a smaller video catalogue is a bitter pill to swallow, and you could argue that South Africans are incentivised to use unblocking services to access the US Netflix service instead.
\nThe problem: regional licensing<\/p>\n
The reason for the discrepancies in Netflix\u2019s offerings between SA and the US generally boils down to regional licensing complications.<\/p>\n
In the case of House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, Netflix said that when it took steps to create its own movies and series, it was a calculated risk.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t sure whether making its own content would work, and so it produced its first original shows in partnership with other companies.<\/p>\n
For House of Cards it worked with Sony, and Sony handles all the licensing.<\/p>\n
This means Netflix had to buy the rights for its own early orignals on a per-region basis. Territories that it did not pick up the rights for could be sold to other distributors.<\/p>\n
Since Sony sold the South African broadcast rights for House of Cards to MultiChoice, this means that Netflix SA will not be able to stream its own show.<\/p>\n
A similar restriction applies to Orange is the New Black.<\/p>\n
MultiChoice will be offered the first opportunity to renew its licences for the shows when they come up for renegotiation.<\/p>\n
If MultiChoice decides stop showing House of Cards or Orange is the New Black, Netflix may get the rights back.<\/p>\n
These issues only apply to its early originals, Netflix said. It holds the rights to all its newer films and shows, and these will be released simultaneously around the world.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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