Aaron Mibab 1: Streaming Wars

 

ADs, Price, Content, Choices. Long ago, these four issues were the concerns of cable TV but everything changed when streaming attacked. Only Netflix, master of all four elements, could fix them. WRONG! Netflix was not the first streaming service. Youtube was one of the first streaming services to gain recognition. Although Netflix is older than youtube, its existence prior to youtube cannot be counted because it did not stream its content over the internet. Many of the positives that I see of streaming content (tv or movies) fixed the presented issues; content and choices were what you desired without ads or high prices. 

Due to the money in streaming content to users, in 2018-2020, companies began removing their content from primarily Netflix or other places. Companies began consolidating their content on streaming services being actively released. I remember watching a youtube video in 2020 explaining the negatives of this “streaming war” that has just begun and its predictions have been used in my opinion since. While the video has an error in its prediction, displayed in its title, its forecasts were incredibly accurate. Disney+ was not the only culprit in this so-called “streaming war” but Disney’s big name made it a primary offender. Personally, I have been advocating the dangers of the streaming war ever since I viewed the video. The covid pandemic, increased the awareness of the positives for streaming content, especially movies.

Companies began consolidating their content into services, at low prices, in order to achieve as many users as possible. This significantly lowered the amount of easily available content, unless one wants to pay prices similar to cable while gaining a lot of unnecessary content due to purchasing multiple services. The other option, that I personally advocated would occur, is piracy. Due to the streaming war’s unsustainably cheap prices to attain users at the onset, companies in the present are looking into (or have looked into) increased prices to regain revenue. Some of them, in order to attract lower budget families, are considering implementing cheaper tiers including advertisements. These advertisements are, in my opinion, one of the negatives that, at the time, new streaming services were able to escape compared to on-demand services (provided by cable companies) or cable. 

While Disney, who the video predicted to be victorious, has not won, many seem to be stating that the streaming wars concluded. This is due to acquisitions and bundling similar to Disney+ at its release or similar to cable companies’ actions for many years. Personally, I disagree. I think the streaming wars are not yet over as the bundling and acquisitions are similar to an elaborate chess game or more simply, hungry hungry hippos. Despite the actions to provide the most content, one merging platform (HBO Max and Discovery) is removing and canceling content. The content removed that I was excited to view or have seen includes: Batgirl, Summer Camp Island, Uncle Grandpa, and Infinity Train. These actions primarily are in order to save money on tax write-downs and residuals (money given to actors/creators for the show's appearance in the service). I am upset that the content I listed is being canceled or removed. For current content, HBO Max’s Harley Quinn is a show I recommend but cannot view because I do not own its service. If everything was still almost completely on one service, I would be able to view all the content on one service, but the content I enjoy would not be produced as an incentive for a streaming service. 

What are your thoughts on the division of content and what will happen in the future?