From Iceland — Netflix Finally Arrives In Iceland

Netflix Finally Arrives In Iceland

Published January 7, 2016

Andie Sophia Fontaine
Photo by
Netflix

At long last, the streaming service has finally been made available to Icelanders.

Coming as a relief to the torrent-wary and frustrated streamers alike, the American online television service is now available in Iceland. Better still, Icelandic subtitles are also available.

Netflix has been trying to establish themselves in Iceland since at least October 2014, but there were many details that needed to be sorted out. First, Netflix needed to make a deal with all the country’s major film studios and related parties for the right to rent and sell movies electronically. This also included making a deal concerning Icelandic material. Second, Netflix needed to strike a deal about having Icelandic subtitles.

In February of last year, all the major details were sorted, and final preparations were underway.

Interestingly, a poll from Market and Media Research in 2014 showed that 1 in 6 Icelanders – about 16.7% of the population – already used Netflix thanks to the magic of proxy servers. Another 5.5% said they did not use Netflix but intended to do so within the next six months.

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