VPN Popularity Due Largely to Regional Media Licensing, nScreenMedia Analyst Says

Regional media licensing seems to be the big reason virtual private network use is high, nScreenMedia Colin Dixon blogged Sunday. Pointing to GlobalWebIndex data, the analyst said a quarter of internet users are monthly VPN users, with the highest density in the Asia-Pacific region, and half of VPN users say they use the technology to access better entertainment content. He said manipulation of regional availability by content rights owners drives that VPN use outside the U.S., and social media could be the content owners' "biggest friend and enemy" -- friend by stimulating interest in new content, and enemy by encouraging audiences to head toward a VPN instead of waiting until local release.