The IP address blocking is a problem I have had as well at times. The Proxify toolabr for Firefox is a way of "showing" your IP address to be that of a different country.
I have found it very handy when buying some things overseas, because the prices can be dramatically lower than in Australia. The USA can give some classics; one example is where the price of GPS map updates for my USA-purchased GPS and its USA maps is much higher in Australia than in the USA. Not sure how they justify that - USA machine, USA maps, for use in the USA. Or is it that they see me an an Australian and therefore a muppet and price gouge.
Out of curiosity, I just Proxify'd myself to be in New Zealand and watched the above-mentioned NZ news video. Not sure if that is due to Proxify though because I don't know if NZ news had blocked Australia.