SaltyNZ:tdgeek: They also pay rights for NZ. But there is no revenue in NZ to fund those rights payments.Except that there isn't any Netflix NZ anyway: the Netflix NZ company is a holding company with 2 directors - neither of whom is based in New Zealand - and 1 shareholder, which is Netflix Inc. incorporated in the Netherlands. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that nearly all the other national Netflixes have the same structure. All of which is a roundabout way of saying that all the revenue from everyone goes back into the same big pot, regardless of where they paid it.
Your argument that Sky or Lightbox or Getflix or TVNZ might be willing to pay less for local rights if there are fewer local subscribers has some merit but I don't not subscribe to Sky only because I have US Netflix. They also only let me watch what they're currently broadcasting, they cost far more, and even after paying that far higher price they still make me watch ads. I don't have an antenna that can receive FTA - satellite or terrestrial - so I can't watch it even if I want to. I tried Getflix once but cancelled before the trial period was up because it was pathetic. Lightbox has no movies.
If Netflix is one big pot and they don't pay rights in NZ my posts are wrong, shame on Netflix for not making a shelf company and giving us a Netflix login that works to all Netflix content