Changing the Media Landscape

              Streaming services have had a profound impact on the media landscape. They have made it much easier for consumers to access shows and movies anywhere, anytime. It has gotten to the point where certain movies are being released on the streaming platforms instead of in theatres. Thinking back to when streaming services first blew up, it came at a perfect time as the COVID pandemic hit shortly after. Consumers still had access to movies and shows, and media content could still be released. Many people now opt to wait for a movie to come out on a streaming platform instead of going to see it in theatres. 

             One way that you could look at this development is "technological determinism". Technological determinism is when technology can determine the development of social structure and cultural values. Before streaming services, if people wanted to watch something they had one of three options: watch it on TV, watch it on DVD, or go to the theatres. While there is not as much social interaction watching something on tv, there can be with watching it on a DVD or going to the theatres. With the DVD, you could go to the store and buy it, there's opportunities for some social interaction there. You also could go to the library to rent a DVD, or to a video store like Blockbuster or Red Box (which are now almost non-existent). As I previously mentioned, the COVID pandemic and rise of streaming services have made theatres take a hit with people not going to them as much. This has also had an impact on the amount of social interaction. There aren't people interacting to buy or scan a ticket, or with the concession workers. 

             Another way to look at this is "Social Construction of Technology". This way of thinking basically means that society and people determine how technology is used. When it comes to streaming services, they didn't become popular by themselves, and just because it existed. People used these services a lot, spread the word, and made streaming services popular. If there wasn't a market for streaming services, there would likely still be just Netflix and Hulu, if they even existed at all. You can relate this to the bundles that are coming out for the streaming services. People want to use these different streaming platforms but don't have an unlimited budget, so from the company perspective, it makes sense to bundle together some streaming services to offer consumers.

             Toni Fitzgerald wrote an article for Forbes that talked about ways that streaming services have changed television. They brought up some really good points that I wanted to include in this blog post. The first point is that it is much easier to binge. This can be a good and bad thing. At this point, it's been established that streaming services have made media content much more accessible, however, binging a show could lead to less productivity if not kept in check. The other main point that I wanted to cover is that streaming services have changed the competitive landscape. There are a multitude of different streaming services with different media entities associated with them. They are all competing with one another for the consumer's time and money. Advertisers see this and have started dedicating their resources into advertisements on streaming platforms instead of regular television. 

             Streaming services have changed the media landscape, for good and bad. TV shows and movies are much more accessible to consumers; however, movie theatres and physical DVDs have taken a hit. With the multitude of streaming platforms available, there has been a lot of competition between production companies and advertisers alike. 


Advertising is a big part of the cost of streaming services
Source: Yahoo Movies



References

  • Croteau, D., & Hoynes, W. (2019). Media/Society. Sage.
  • Fitzgerald, T. (2019). 5 Ways Streaming Changed Television Forever in the Last Decade. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonifitzgerald/2019/12/24/5-ways-streaming-changed-television-forever-in-the-last-decade/

  • Forristal, L. (2022). Netflix’s ad-supported plan is finally here. Yahoo Movies. https://ca.movies.yahoo.com/movies/netflixs-ad-supported-plan-finally-160048843.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAC9fm58uoSmBlByr3YRLDd0IhwLS4wwWeDVR5xIqdOJeKfgehMcvE1ASjSvwC1h1OqdQe6GBxmxVC_M5jLYqp_W1RgD3jIp-N8pJMUmywwd1pa9506qUvp-k5872F9YpBZdOmKgZO_q0T3w2cKSXD39rQdoRy2e7OrWjzEnv8R_Y 

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