Limited selection: Why does Netflix hate us?
With less than 2,000 series and movies, Netflix has less on offer in Belgium compared to other places, like, say, Christmas Island
Nothing to see here
The website uNoGS lists the current offering of the streaming service in each country. Belgium has a menu running to 1,982 items – 1,561 movies and 421 TV series. Andorra, meanwhile, has 2,141 items. Christmas Island – population 2,000 – has 2,183 items. If Belgium were to be served as well as the Christmas Islanders, we’d have a list of about 12 million films and series to choose from.
Het Laatste Nieuws spoke to Joris Evers, communications executive for Netflix in the Benelux. “The younger the service, the less that’s on offer,” he explained. Netflix has only been available here for a short time, so the library of productions is smaller than it would be in the US (more than 5,000 items) where it’s been going since 2007.
The same applies to countries like Canada (3,452) and the UK (3,039), but also other smaller countries on the American continent.
This means that hard-core fans often turn to virtual public networks (VPNs) to disguise their origins and plug into the US library. Though Netflix isn’t particularly bothered by that, film and TV producers are. “According to the contracts, we have to use the most advanced technology available to prevent virtual border crossings,” said Evers. “If we don’t, we’re in breach of licensing agreements with the producers.”
Photo: Orange is the New Black, now available on Netflix – maybe
