A couple years ago “Netflix & chill” was just said as a joke, a connotation for something other than just watching Netflix and chilling. But nowadays — thanks to the vast library of video streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime — people have been spending more and more time watching their favorite shows and movies. Consumers have been cutting the cord on their TV subscription services and subscribing to up-and-coming video streaming services more and more each year, which has resulted in a multibillion dollar industry, with consumers spending $9.55 billion on online streaming services.
This is not just happening in the US either. Countries such as the UK, the Netherlands, and Norway have reported more and more of their citizens are making the switch from TV to online over the past year. This shift is also visible within our culture as well. Awards shows such as the Emmys have been featuring the content of these streaming services more and more, with Netflix earning 112 nominations and HBO 108 nominations at the most recent Emmys.
One cannot help but ask, why the shift? Even though online streaming services have a wide variety of shows for everybody, there is no live aspect to them. The shows are often released as a whole season at once with a long wait-time before their release. Television still has that live aspect, with its coverage of football games on the spot, news reports, debates, government broadcasts and so on. But streaming platforms seem to have captured the most popular aspects of live television in their new marketing strategies. One can turn oto the news on HBO and watch American football on Amazon Prime. But broadcasting companies such as BBC do remain relevant because they continue to put forth critically acclaimed programing like the Planet Earth series.
Statistics regarding why people make the shift indicate that the first and foremost reason seems to be content. Original content that is only available on these platforms entices people to pay for these subscriptions and let go of TV. Shows such as Stranger Things on Netflix have gained cult following over the last year or so, and new shows such as Disenchantment (also on Netflix) made by the creators of The Simpsons, have started to garner attention as well. The aforementioned shows on Netflix and shows like The Handmaid’s Tale and Broad City on Hulu have allowed these online streaming services to attract new customers with their original content. Original content seems to be the main strategy used by these streaming services to differentiate themselves. Netflix has stated that it will be spending upwards of $8 billion USD on creating new content for its platform.
Content seems to be a huge influence on people’s decisions for making the move to streaming services, but it is not the only reason. One other reason is the cleanliness of these online platforms. There are no advertisements on Netflix, Hulu or HBO Go that cut in between the movie or show you are watching. One can watch as much content as one would like without being interrupted. The term “binge-watching” has become a common characteristic for a person, whereas in the age of television, it was not as common.
Another reason for people opting for online platforms is the power of choice. Not the act of choosing what to watch, but the act of choosing when to watch, how long to watch, whether to skip or not to skip. The power is completely in the hands of the audience when it comes to video streaming. It can choose which show to watch, what episode to watch in that show, which part to specifically skip to and whether to skip the episode altogether. These choices are not available to the same degree on television, as people still have to sit through ads, watch the whole episode or movie just to see one scene, or not even watch what they want to watch. Even though one can record television through a DVR, the capacity and capability of DVRs is still limited to the point where they are not as convenient as these video streaming services.
Does all of this mean that the era of television is coming to an end? Of course not. As seen by the statistics, people flock to where there is good content to consume. If broadcasting companies put more money into developing original stories to tell with good production, people will indeed recognize these efforts and come back to watching television like they used to. There is still something special in waiting for that episode of that popular TV show for the whole week. It builds up anticipation, curiosity and excitement, which is not existent with online streaming that allows one to watch content in a matter of hours.
Video streaming services are not the end all be all, and television is still a force to be reckoned with. But one should not underestimate the power of platforms such as Netflix and Hulu. With lots of original content, a nice variety of old content and prominence in youth culture, they do have staying power and have the potential to drastically alter the television industry, unless broadcasting companies decide to put more effort into their content rather than broadcasting underwhelming reality tv shows about pawn shops.
For now, television has still not washed down the stream. However, its foundations seem to be slippery. •
