British subscription sports channel Sky Sports Golf received heavy backlash from the Kenyan audience over the Magical Kenya Ladies Open.
This is after the channel shared a video of the tournament on its Twitter page but activated geo-blocking such that Kenyans on Twitter could not view it.
Geo-blocking or geo-restriction are social media-specific settings that block certain content in specific countries. Twitter usually refers to geo-blocked content as 'country-withheld content.'
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This setting effectively limits user access to content based on their physical location.
“I had to use VPN to watch the video. I'm in Kenya and the video is shot in Kenya, but I can't watch it, as it's geo-restricted. Maybe Sky Sports should pay royalties for such videos,’ one Kenyan user commented.
“Why am I restricted to view this on Kenya?” another user questioned.
A user known as AbugaKe asked Sky Sports Golf to enable him to get a sense of why he was restricted to view the video in Kenya yet the safari shot is located in the country.
Speaking to TeamKenya.co.ke Mark Obar a computing expert, explained how geo-restricting or geo-blocking works noting that despite having VPN access one could still be blocked from the content.
“Geo-restriction works through alienation of geographical location from digital services particularly content production in which, people with the location will not be able to view the content.
"It enables the rights holders to effectively restrict what country their videos can be viewed in," Obar explained.
Aditi Ashok, winner at the 2023 Magical Kenya Ladies Open was full of praise for the golf course (Vipingo Ridge Golf Resort ) for having wildlife.
Animals such as the giraffe walk and graze at PGA Baobab Course offering players a unique golf safari in view of the Indian Ocean.
Also Read: Golfer Naomi Wafula Makes History in Vipingo's Kenya Ladies Opens