Ultimate sports: streaming edition
If you consumed any form of content from home in the past five years then you are familiar with the novelty that is a streaming service. In the off chance that you or someone you know has been deserted in a land without internet, streaming services are platforms that hold catalogs of digital entertainment ranging from television series, movies, and documentaries. The concept is brilliant. It is a service that allows the consumer to enjoy their preferred style of entertainment from the comfort of their own home. While streaming services were around long before the Covid-19 era, their use was greatly appreciated by the masses amidst the months of quarantine. Quite frankly, now it is hard to imagine a time where every movie or TV show was not at the touch of a button.
Clearly, streaming services are a lucrative industry. With 78 percent of Americans using a subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service in 2021, it is hard to deny the success of these platforms. This sector of corporate America is not unlike the others. Its great success has lured many competitors to the scene. In 2007, Netflix introduced the concept of allowing its customers the option of streaming their content directly to their homes. Previously, Netflix was solely a DVD rental service, and this revolutionized the traditional entertainment rental model. Therefore, starting the decline of brick and mortar rental stores like Blockbuster. Netflix dominated the streaming service industry right off the bat. Although both Amazon and Hulu video-on-demand services were created in the same timeframe, they did not have the same impact as Netflix. As these three platforms gained more traction and more success, other media conglomerates became interested. Companies as big as Disney, Apple, Warner Media, and Comcast have all acknowledged the direction digital entertainment is going, and have put a horse in the race. There are more streaming services than one can count on their two hands, but the most popular include Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV, and many more.
Even though television is not even 100 years old the entire industry has dramatically changed in the last five years. It is difficult to accurately gage which platform is "winning" the streaming wars since there are so many different categories to assess. In a recent article, Vulture does a deep dive on the top seven streaming services to see who is leading the race. The most obvious category to analyze is the overall size of subscriber count. No surprise here — Netflix is the leader with 208 million subscribers. Another notable addition to the ongoing streaming competition is original productions. You may be familiar with the slogan "Netflix Original" plastered on a trending movie poster. These originals have become attributes of a successful streaming platform. In the same Vulture article, the author ranked each platform's originals output. Again, Netflix remained in the lead. The popularity of streaming services and the creation of the streaming wars in general is seen directly in the viewership. For example, the Netflix original "Cobra Kai was the most in-demand show in the States, generating 106.3 times more consumer interest than the average series" (Adalian). It is safe to say that streaming platforms are now the number one source of digital entertainment, and the competition in the streaming wars will only amplify. These wars will be an interesting space to watch as the stakes grow even higher.
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The branching out of streaming platforms has irritated me quite a bit recently. Companies are super profit hungry lately and think they can cut out the middle man and get people to subscribe to their personal service by adding a plus to their company name. It makes sense why they want to make their content subscription based, so they have a constant stream of revenue. However, I don't think this method is sustainable long-term as I think people will eventually not be able to afford to have access to even a quarter of the media they want to consume. I miss the good ol' Netflix days and I hope that a service comes along that reunifies all these stingy companies…
I always discuss this especially with my parents. Every month my parents see the chargers for streaming services go up and up. Then we have subscriptions to almost every platform, making streaming services costly. The issue is, every platform has their own individual items. This competitive nature then makes consumers buy every service so they have access to everything. I know I am upset about it because I used to be able to watch mostly everything on Netflix and now I have to search and search multiple platforms before I find the right one.
Netflix has definitely been a first mover in this industry with them moving to an online streaming platform format before any other company. However, as Netflix continues to raise their prices (there was just recently a price jump in January 2022) and them removing some of their most widely viewed shows to other streaming platforms (popular shows like Friends and The Office are now exclusively available on competitors streaming platforms) I am wondering how much longer they will be at the head of the pack. As more and more competitors, specifically Disney, begin to offer more exclusive content, I will curiously be watching to see which companies are able to stay "winning" the race!
For sure there is a streaming war going on right now! I have been a long time holder of the company Roku, however, recently in the past month the stock price has plummeted amidst not only the economy but also Roku's decision to bear arms and join the streaming wars via a self sufficient content creating project like Netflix. With my losses in Roku stock, I believe the streaming wars to be a bit inflated, in that a lot of companies are rushing and competing with streaming, straying from their supposed company product (like in Roku's case). Great Post!