What Will Streaming Look Like in Future? Will Cable Resurge?

In the realm of entertainment, streaming services are becoming more popular. In this cutthroat market, new competitors like Disney and Warner Bros. are emerging. However, the idea of streaming as a kind of home entertainment is still somewhat new. Only in the last ten years has it become more well-known. 

But some old behaviors never go away, as trends often do. In particular when there is more money to be made. There is also plenty of money available for the traditional cable business, including for streaming services.

Let's hypothesize about what the future holds for streaming as a medium for a little while.

The Model for Cable Bundles

Here is a short summary of the evolution of television subscription schemes before we move to the future. It all began with studio networks in Hollywood and elsewhere negotiating for content (channels) with cable and satellite providers.

Since the earliest days of channel subscriptions, at-home entertainment has advanced significantly. Subscribers may pick the channels they want to watch. All they required was their cable company, which later financed the network.

As more channels came up later in the 1970s, cable operators shifted to a package scheme. Customers had a more affordable choice than having to pay for each channel separately. Additionally, everyone engaged enjoyed a much more successful economic model that compensated studios in carriage fees. Networks made a lot of money, and they continued to get payment per viewer. Additionally, it made it possible for smaller, specialty channels to get a stronger presence.

However, with the cord-cutting movement, the globe is currently seeing a new entertainment revolution. The big new frontier for studios and networks is streaming, thanks to key players in the market like Netflix and Amazon.

Streaming Provides Studios with a New Opportunity

The network-independent platform used by Netflix attracted a large audience. In a sense, it served as the foundation for the thriving streaming market that exists today. Many networks agreed to grant the platform a license for their material, but many did not anticipate the site's rapid expansion. They could have watched the success of the platform on which they had sold their intellectual property with jealousy.

It's possible that networks are still making a lot of money from cable TV at the moment. However, as more people join the cable-cutting trend, this reality is changing.

Network executives wouldn't want to lose out on the opportunity to profit before it's too late because it is a lucrative endeavor. Disney not only acquired 60% of Hulu, but they also took the majority of their programming off of Netflix. On November 1 of last year, the material got a new home on Disney+. The figurative light has also been seen by other media behemoths. They are currently attempting to catch up.

In addition, converting to a direct-to-consumer strategy has several advantages. For starters, the networks may eliminate the cable intermediary. Additionally, they are free to impose whatever price on customers. It's not difficult to picture this developing into various cable-like packages or bundles. Different pricing tiers are available on streaming services, locking away premium and commercial-free material behind higher membership costs.

There is a large backlash against the massive influx of streaming services.

Although this new trend may be excellent for studio networks, consumers aren't too thrilled about it. So it makes sense. It's hardly progress when you have to pay $10 to $20 per service to see network-owned content instead of just obtaining it from one or two outlets. Particularly for those who cut the cord to avoid paying for cable or satellite service for channels they never watched.

The question of availability is also present. It's possible that Netflix reached a global audience because Amazon was right behind it. Only a few nations now provide Hulu, HBO Now, and Disney+, among other streaming services. It's possible that this will change in the future, but for now, it presents a serious issue for viewers from other countries. That is one of the explanations why VPN services are so well-liked nowadays. By allowing you to connect to a VPN server in another nation, they let you access geo-restricted content. 

Consider the Mandalorian series as an illustration. There are fans of the Star Wars series everywhere, but Disney+ is only accessible in six nations. Fans from the United Kingdom will have to wait until March 31, 2020, for the Disney Plus debut. The majority of nations don't even have scheduled launches.

Summary

The future of in-home entertainment looks to be streaming, and in many respects, it is. But as the saying goes, history tends to repeat itself. Some may have hoped that streaming would provide an alternative to the pricey cable infrastructure.