Premiers of Streaming Services
In the past few years, we’ve witnessed a seismic shift in the entertainment industry, with the streaming services spearheading that change. From the heyday of video rental stores to the explosion of cable television, to the current age where we have a multitude of streaming platforms, our TV and movie viewing habits have changed dramatically. Services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and a plethora of others have turned the entertainment landscape upside down. But what does this evolution mean for the future of television? In this article we take a closer look at who the winners are in streaming, why it works and the future of television and entertainment.
The Growth of Streaming Services
1. The Time Ripe for OTT over Traditional TV
For decades, TV shows and movies had been bound by strict timetables. People had to watch at particular times to catch a favorite show or wait until a rerun or DVD came out to see it another time. And with the rise of streaming services, viewers were given the ability to watch whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, without the annoyance of scheduling or commercials.
• On-Demand Flexibility: Services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ give viewers the ability to binge entire seasons of shows and libraries of films at their convenience, freeing them from the notion of traditional programming schedules.
• Binge-Watching Culture: The convenience of on-demand streaming gave rise to this phenomenon of “binge-watching,” or when fans throw themselves at multiple episodes or an entire season of a series in one sitting.
That transformation was a huge game changer for how content was created; today, many of the best shows are made to be consumed this way, serialized with bingers in mind, with cliffhangers and ongoing plot arcs to bring the heavy viewers back for more.
2. The Proliferation of Streaming Platforms
In the last decade, the streaming platforms have proliferated and grown more granular to different tastes, demographics and content needs. Streaming services have started to diversify when it comes to content, as competition increases for subscribers.
• Niche Platforms: Alongside mainstream offerings such as Netflix and Amazon, smaller niche services like Shudder (for horror films) and Criterion Channel (classic and art-house cinema) also thrive with content that may not find a place in mainstream offerings.
• Internationalization And Market Penetration: The popular streaming channels have become a facilitator of international growth offering content in multiple languages and catering to regional customers. Besides, local content proves to be a winning strategy for streaming services, such as Netflix, which has managed to design regional-oriented shows that cater to different audiences worldwide, ranging from the famous Spanish-speaking series, Money Heist, to Bollywood cinema.
But this competition is also forcing services to keep innovating, and constantly trying to improve those user experiences, the range of content, and personalization experiences.
What Is Driving the Popularity of Streaming?
1. Consumer Personalization and Convenience
The drive behind much of the success of the streaming services has been the unprecendented level of control they give to consumers. Unlike traditional TV, where viewers had to watch when a broadcaster decided to broadcast, streaming allows users to decide when and where to consume content.
• Anytime, Anyplace Access: Users are able to catch shows and movies on multiple devices — smart television, tablet, laptop and smartphone — as long as they have an internet connection.
• Ad-Free Viewing: A lot of streaming platforms have ad-free or minimal-ad viewing options, a stark contrast to the heavy commercials commitment of regular TV.
Such tight control and convenience has been a major draw of streaming, offering consumers the chance to watch what they want, when they want, with few strings attached.
2. Exclusive Content and Original Content
With so much content from which to choose, streaming providers have turned to increasingly received original programming to set them apart from other providers. These exclusive, high-quality shows and movies are real draws for new subscribers, but they also help keep subscribers interested for the long haul.
• Adding Original Programming: Netflix’s Stranger Things, Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Disney+’s The Mandalorian are among the awards-winning programming that have won critical acclaim and turned millions of viewers into subscribers.
• Original Content: Streaming platforms also have an advantage when it comes to releasing films and series exclusively to their platform. Disney has, for instance, yanked its content from traditional outlets, making sure that even its new blockbusters — Black Widow, Mulan — are available only on Disney+.
By creating these original productions they aren’t just generating media hype around the platforms but also generating the sense of community and fandom for fans.
The Future of Streaming and TV: What’s Next
1. The War for Content Ownership
As streaming services become the primary way we consume television, the race for content ownership will heat up. The big studios have embraced streaming with their own platforms, including HBO Max and Disney+. These studios have now settled on content as a key piece of their business strategy, giving subscribers first crack at their films and shows.
• Exclusive content deals: Studios will provide content just for its platforms, leading to more exclusive deals. For example, Warner Bros. has been making a concerted effort to push unsolicited movies straight to HBO Max, alongside the theatrical runs.
• More content be made in-house for streaming platforms reducing competition among content providers Netflix, for example, has ramped up spending on original movies and series, reducing deals to license programming from other creators.
And as platforms continue to build their own ecosystems of content, we might find that the landscape grows more fragmented, with each service offering programming that may ultimately require subscriptions to multiple platforms to access everything you want to see.
2. Interactive and Immersive Experiences
The future of streaming is not so much in watching TV, but in interacting with it. The technology is being driven by advances in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), creating immersive viewing experiences.
• Interactive Content: Following the success of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, a Netflix original that allows viewers to make decisions that affect the storyline, streaming platforms will likely increase their focus on interactive shows and films, where viewers have more control over the narrative.
• VR and AR Integration: With the development of VR and AR technologies, streaming services may incorporate these into their platforms, offering viewers an experience that blends physical and digital worlds. Imagine watching a movie in VR where you can physically interact with the environment or characters.
This will change the game, opening up new possibilities for engagement and content creation.
3. The Future of Broadcast TV
Broadcast TV faces immense pressures in the age of streaming. Viewership for cable networks are dwindling and the days of ad-supported programming are becoming less and less effective. Consequently, here are a few trends to flag:
• Hybrid Models: Traditional networks may explore hybrid models as a response to streaming competition, such as incorporating both live content and on-demand services like Hulu or Peacock examples of live TV channels along with streaming options.
• Cord-Cutting: The trend of “cord-cutting,” in which viewers cancel traditional cable TV subscriptions in favor of streaming services, is expected to continue. This will prompt networks to reassess their business strategies and perhaps develop their own streaming platforms to woo audiences.
It seems that one way broadcast TV can hope to survive is to adapt to the on-demand model of streaming, which is all about flexibility and access to content at viewer convenience.
Conclusion
Streamers have changed how we watch TV and movies, giving us unprecedented convenience, choice, and control. With streaming platforms continuously adapting and finding new ways to push the boundaries of their medium, a lot of transformative changes in the industry are still in the works. But the future of television is more than just the content changing — it’s also about interactive, immersive experiences that continue to break down the barrier between the viewer and the screen.
The expansion of streaming services will increase their impact on the way we engage with the entertainment world. We will continue to explore things that television can do, and if we can do more than others to serve both creators and viewers. Original programming, advanced technologies, and a customized experience are some of the features mentioned by these service providers, and from their perspective, the future looks bright for streaming, and hopefully, it’ll be even more exciting, dynamic, and engaging than experienced before.
