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Let’s do a deep dive on the world and future of entertainment with the popularization of online streaming
2020 has been the year where we as a society have had to learn to live with ourselves inside closed places and not enjoy the same freedom that we did before. We have been confined to our homes for a better part of the year. We have had to rediscover ourselves to adapt to the ‘new normal’. The conventional methods of de-stressing such as going on vacations or to the shopping mall or to the cinemas have all been scrapped. People have explored new avenues to keep themselves entertained.
One of the many avenues that have come to the mainstream in epic proportions is online streaming services.
Let’s take a look at the origin of streaming services.
Streaming dates back to the early ‘90s. The major upheaval that it has caused in this decade owes a major chunk of the credit to faster and much more affordable Internet. Consuming online content is no longer only for the affluent. An average person has access to the fastest of Internet and streaming service. This boom of the Internet has also coincided with the rapid development of computing power. Smartphones and tablets now hold the power to access everything on the Internet. The world has become a lot smaller and can fit right into the palm of our hands.
A lot of the streaming services owes it’s success to Netflix who disrupted the entire entertainment scene in 2007 with their online streaming service.
So, what separates online streaming services from the conventional entertainment industry?
The main plus that the online streaming service has over the conventional modes of entertainment is accessibility. The conventional methods that exist in the entertainment industry were not as consumer-friendly as online streaming services. Online services provide a sense of intimacy to the consumer. Everything is available to the customer at the touch of a finger. The consumer can pause, play, skip, forward and rewind on their own accord. This is generally not possible when consuming content from a conventional source.
The other crucial aspect that streaming services capitalize on is the waiting period. The traditional methods of entertainment do not provide the consumer with the option to binge-watch. The consumer has to always wait for airing of all the episodes of their favourite show. This is where the online streaming services knocks the ball out of the park.
Streaming services such as xcine holds a repository of all the content available. A consumer can simply binge-watch an entire show in a day or two or can rewatch their favourite episodes whenever they want to. This level of interaction is not possible when it comes to the traditional mode of entertainment.
What’s next for these streaming services?
With the rapid advancements in technology and computing power, newer avenues for the development of streaming services are being opened daily. The advent of 5G, edge computing and low latency protocols ensures that the streaming services are here to stay.
The pandemic has made us realise how indispensable these services are to us. They became the only form of entertainment during these difficult times. They provide a great alternative to the traditional modes of entertainment.
A prediction by experts states that the number of devices with access to the Internet will become three times the global population by 2023. This only means that these services are in here for the long haul. Streaming services definitely have the potential to become the frontrunners in providing entertainment to the consumer in the years to come.
