Little did the world know that a respiratory virus would accelerate the streaming industry in all aspects, be it quality, quantity, or pricing. With Covid-19 lockdowns, the world witnessed the greatest spike in demand for online video streaming. Not only has the world of streaming movies and shows witnessed this growth, in fact, even with the use of applications such as Skype and Zoom increased rapidly.
However, in this sudden expansion in the spectrum of streaming services Pay TV lost its place! It did use to have a certain amount of audience and market share but Pay TV literally became useless as the most of its customers were those who enjoyed live sports. With the Covid-19 spread globally almost all sport events got canceled leaving Pay TV nothing unique to offer.
As per eMarketer, more than 6.5 million subscribers have cut the cord in 2020 alone.Have you also thought about cutting the cord? PayTV also faced a 15% fall in ad spending. The situation was made worse with production houses closing down due to the contagious nature of the virus. People have now encountered the true freedom of subscribing to online streaming services and it doesn’t seem like they’re going to go back to PayTV. Instead of spending so much, people are now opting for subscribing to multiple streaming services as they don’t cost an arm and a leg and are pretty much devoted to giving users the best viewing experience.
In fact, people had watched so much of their own regional Netflix libraries that even the sale of Netflix VPN services encountered a huge growth. People have literally watched everything on their local Netflix libraries millions of subscribers have used Netflix VPN and expanded their content options, most of them chasing the American Netflix. It is considered the best Netflix library, all the top shows and movies land there first!
With the entrance of new streaming platforms such as Disney+ HBO Max, Peacock, and the ongoing revamp of CBS All Access as Paramount. Discovery+ and its collection of programming from Food Network, HGTV, and TLC are to be launched soon as well.
There has also been a demand for Original content after Netflix aired its hit series, “House of Cards”. This resulted in other platforms spending on and creating their own original content. Internationally the demand for original programming has risen. Subscribers, especially the younger ones specially focus on the content available on the streaming service before making a purchase decision. Original programming increased subscriber interactions, which usually take the form of debates that revolve around popular shows. Or if you can recall the massive petitions for a new season of Lucifer. No longer is it the producers who decide what to make, this too has changed and now it is the audience indicating what they really want to watch.
The success of online streaming services has even made conventional providers such as Spectrum TV and Xfinity TV step up their game and launch their own apps for their subscribers. According to research it has been identified that video streaming alone accounted for more than 80% of the global internet traffic. IMAGINE THAT!
On the other hand, HBO Max made the smartest and most consumer friendly business move with releasing movies on the same date as the theaters. This is one of the most intelligent business move, especially during these times but will also be beneficial after the Covid-19
As a matter of fact Google clearly identified the user’s intent to watch online videos, before and during Covid-19. And as the users’ intents have changed so has Google revolutionized its search results focusing more on what the user really wants. And during this period users have either wanted to know about how to access certain streaming platforms or have searched for online streaming options. And Google with its ingenious algorithm has really catered to the searcher’s intent.
Due to this all, related websites have also had to change their SEO practices to align with Google and appear in top results. For this a lot of conventional practices have changed and websites have transformed their operating procedures. Furthermore, they have become very alert following Google updates so that they may appear to the right audience. This again is a huge shift in the industry which many do not know of, especially those with little or no knowledge of digital marketing.
Not only had the online video streaming industry got a boost in 2020, in fact even for the gaming industry the year was filled with revolutionized ideas and innovations. As Artificial Intelligence is developing at an exponential speed, many of the processes involved in the creation of a game masterfully designed with knowledge and information on world issues that will engage a significant number of people and keep them attached to what is available to them. This type of totally near to real gaming has transformed the landscape of the entire gaming industry as well.
The gaming industry also provided a spectacular solution to play graphic intensive games on low configuration devices by providing the solution in the form of Cloud Gaming. The future of cloud gaming seems promising as it provides a chance to everyone to play the latest and the best games without spending money on a gaming PC or expensive gaming consoles.
Wrapping Up!
With the need for a high speed internet to stream 4k and 8k videos and play graphically heavy games it is important for the internet to have lower latency so you can enjoy these services in full swing. It is expected that QUIC and HTTP/3: HTTP/3 will help to enhance the web globally for everyone. Continued progress would introduce HTTP/3 and QUIC from budding standards to commonly accepted web-enhancing technologies.
