Evolution of Streaming

THE EV LO TI ON

STREAMING SERVICES

When you hear the phrases “streaming movies” and “streaming TV shows,” the first thing that may come to mind is Netflix. Which sense since it’s quickly soared to be one of the most popular online streaming services today. According to www.street.com, Netflix was founded in 1997 and was originally a DVD rental and sales site. It was nowhere near Blockbuster, which was the nation’s largest-video rental chain at the time. However, on September 23, 2010, Blockbuster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and other retail chains like Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video filed for Chapter seven bankruptcy the same year. These losses gave Netflix the opportunity to pounce and they did not fail in becoming the newest leader in video rental. To make the company even bigger, Netflix began partnering with several electronics companies to get them on smart TVs and gaming consoles. This process would eventually become known as streaming. On February 1, 2013, Netflix’s first original series House of Cards was released followed by Orange is the New Black in July that year.

Netflix’s success carried on into 2016 where it became accessible worldwide and paved the way for other companies to start streaming services as well. Hulu TV became a prominent competitor with Netflix in the late 2010’s but joining the battle in 2019 became even greater competition from other electronics companies. AT&T unleashed its own streaming package and Apple and Disney also unveiled their first streaming methods with Apple TV and Disney Plus. With the newest streaming services out there all competing for the top spot many people are asking the question of what will the future of streaming become? And what other companies will rise to the task?

The next challenge these companies may be tasked with is not necessarily about improving TV streaming; the challenge might lie in places that haven’t been explored yet, such as video games. Google Stadia was launched on November 19, 2019 and is the most recent and biggest video game streaming service. However, according to www.gamersurface.com, the release of the service received mixed reviews from people who criticized the lack of multiplayer games and noticed the slower input lag. The same source stated that some users believed it would take four or five years for this problem to be fixed. Luke Laschober, a USF sophomore, says, “Many people called it inferior to other consoles due to the quality of its service and controller.”

With the backfire of Google Stadia, it may be an opportunity for console companies to re-emerge beginning this Christmas, especially since Xbox and Microsoft are set to release their newest console— codename “Project Scarlett.” According to www.theverge.com, Project Scarlett will support 8k gaming, frame rates up to 120 fps, ray tracing and variable refresh rate support. Depending on the success of Project Scarlett and the inevitable release of the PS5 later this year, the battle between console video games and streaming video games may not be over just yet. What is safe to say however is that the future of television lies in streaming services like Netflix. Netflix was recently ranked as the number one fastest growing brand according to Forbes. What’s also safe to say is the end of this battle has yet to happen.