The UK government is engaged in a consultation on the enforcement of the Portability Regulation that will come into force on 1 April 2018.
From that date online streaming services will be required to allow EU-based subscribers access to paid-for content when temporarily in another EU Member State, for example when on holiday. It could bring to an end the issue of a legitimate Netflix subscriber unable to complete a series begun on holiday because of geographical restrictions on the rights.
Free services and those tied to the payment of licence fees, such as the BBC iPlayer, can offer the service but are not obliged to. It’s not permitted to charge a fee for international access or reduce the quality of the service for overseas viewers.
The consultation continues until January 31, 2018.
Further Information