We Live In The Age of Streaming
Streaming, in general, has seen a massive surge in its usage numbers over the last year. You may argue that a good part of this growth is due to the lack of other entertainment options – after all, cinemas were closed, and so were pubs, theatres, and concert halls. But streaming was already on its way to become the dominant form of content consumption even before the pandemic hit. Over the last few years, we’ve seen a shift in the users’ preferences, away from traditional media and toward new formats and platforms that offer more of what they are looking for, and in a way that’s a better fit for their individual needs.
- Movies and TV shows
Perhaps the biggest shift we’ve seen in recent years happened in the way we consume movies and series, thanks to the emergence of Netflix and its ever-growing number of competitors. These services have turned from a platform that delivers other content creators’ works into one that produces their own original programming that is published directly through the streaming platform.
If a few years ago, we’ve had only one major content delivery platform – the above-mentioned Netflix, today we have several, each with its own original programming and ever-growing user base, and thousands of – often exclusive – pieces of content to offer
- Music
Music streaming has overtaken live radio and music-focused TV channels in many areas thanks in a large part to its capability to offer personalized content (as opposed to traditional channels that offer their users little to no choice in what to listen to next).
Music streaming has overtaken physical music sales years ago, making CDs almost disappear from the market. Today, the same platforms grow even faster thanks to the soaring popularity of podcasts.
- Games, eSports and other live streams
Gaming and streaming are a match made in heaven. Since YouTube celebrity PewDiePie became famous for his “Let’s Play” videos, gaming has tightened its relationship. Today, you can find a complete range of games to stream online, from eSports matches to hands of blackjack at the best live casino India has to offer.
Over the last few years, an ever-growing number of companies are trying to grab a slice of the cake, with veterans like Twitch sharing the market with newcomers like YouTube Gaming, Facebook Gaming, and others.
- Live events
The many restrictions that were imposed to prevent the spread of the virus have gutted the live events industry around the world. It took organizers a few months to find a way to move them online. And when they did, they found that they can, indeed, be successful.
For lack of a better alternative, many artists chose to keep in touch with their fans from home, via streamed performances on Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, and other platforms. Later, we’ve seen massive music festivals (Tomorrowland Around the World) and live concerts of popular bands (BTS) happen virtually – these were massive live events were seen by millions of attendees, showing that streaming, once again, is a viable alternative to in-person events, hinting that we’ll see more of the same in the near future.
It’s easy to see that we’re living in the age of streaming, between live clips on Facebook and movie premieres beamed right into our homes. The global pandemic certainly helped streaming become the go-to form of entertainment for millions of internet users – but it just hurried the inevitable.
