Nice move, Slingshot...

Earlier this month Slingshot unblocked access to certain movie websites, much to the delight of their customers.

Slingshot is the country’s third biggest internet provider, and in a bold move unblocked over 20 websites for all of their customers, including Netflix and Hulu.

Since the unblocking, the number of Slingshot customers accessing these sites had quadrupled.

While many people know how to get around the restrictions of Netflix, Hulu and the like in this country, not everybody does, and more and more people in New Zealand are wanting access to American and UK movie and television internet services.

Many people still wait every week for shows that have since ended in the states, or continue to download shows or movies off the net illegally.

Prior to unblocking the sites for all its customers, Slingshot offered this service to New Zealand households who claimed they had an international visitor staying with them.

So all you had to do, if you used Slingshot as your internet provider, was to convince them that you had overseas visitors in your home. Easy. But Slingshot says there are now four times more customers accessing these websites after they were unblocked.

Not surprisingly, the reaction from Slingshot customers has been overwhelmingly positive.

For those lucky customers, a subscription to Netflix will bring so much joy to their lives, and no longer will they have to worry about receiving download warnings from Big Brother. Watch away, my friends.

Slingshot’s move is a another step towards New Zealand having better and quicker access to international content, and hopefully Vodafone and Telecom follow suit too.