A live action Star Wars show that showcases the grimmer side of the universe. A superhero show where superheroes are bad guys, owned by corporations trying to make a few bucks. A new drama about newscasters starring Steve Carrell and Jennifer Aniston. All of these shows have been critically acclaimed, yet there’s a good chance you haven’t heard of or seen any of them. Why, you might ask? Each one of these “television” shows stream exclusively on Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV+, respectively. These services, only three of many, continue to saturate the entertainment market, each with their own offerings and original shows, forcing viewers to choose which services to shell out more money for and which to pass on. What started as a market dominated solely by Netflix has spanned into a movement, with many households choosing to ditch cable in favor of the cheaper and seemingly more accessible streaming options. What factors could have caused this change in consumer behavior, and what does this mean for the future of cable television? Let’s find out.
In order to truly understand how home entertainment transformed into the digital giant it is today, we have to look back at its more humble roots: brick and mortar video stores. In the 1980’s, many of the best movies of the century (at least in my opinion) were released, such as the Back to the Future trilogy, art of the Star Wars trilogy, E.T., and many more. These films drew immense crowds at theaters across the world, as the silver screen continued to prove immensely popular. Of course, these viewers would love the opportunity to watch these films in the comfort of their own homes, yet a problem arose: for each film they would want to watch, they would have to either wait for it to appear on television or buy it. Of course, they could save their money and pay for just the films they wanted to see, but what if they yearned for more? Well, in 1985, blockbuster solved this problem by introducing video rentals. Now, for a small rental fee, Americans could rent the latest and greatest movies for a much lower cost than buying it, and could get much more viewing time out of the same amount of money. This desire for more entertainment at a cheaper cost helped to skyrocket blockbuster’s popularity, which at its peak had over 9,000 stores worldwide.
In 2007, however, the game would be changed once again, as Netflix, with its humble beginnings as a disc rental subscription that mailed directly to consumers' houses, introduced its online streaming service. Thanks to improvements in internet speed and accessibility, consumers could now (for a fee much cheaper than a cable subscription) have instant access to hundreds of movies and television shows, all from the comfort of their own living room. Long gone were the days of running to the store to rent a movie. Instead, Netflix allowed consumers instant gratification, with little effort on their part. Slowly but surely, blockbuster continued to dwindle, until finally ceasing operations in 2010. It appeared that the end had come for brick and mortar, as the new digital age reared its head. Despite how negative this may seem for movie theaters and cable television, they both continued to remain relevant; but how? From what I can infer, there appears to be two main reasons: impatience and necessity. Although Netflix could provide consumers access to hundreds of films and television shows, with an ever expanding library, its material was contingent on new films and television shows being produced. Before 2013, all of Netflix’s content came from licensing agreements with film and television distributors, meaning they had to wait until the content had come out on home media before they could start streaming it. Additionally, viewers have and will always continue to desire new and fresh content. Rather than wait for the latest Marvel movie to stream on Disney+, most fans will spend the 15$+ on a movie ticket to see it opening weekend, hence why most Marvel films make well over $1 billion at the box office. For the time being, this allowed for cable television and theaters to remain relevant, although the future remained in question. The future would catch up to cable television, unfortunately, in 2013, when Netflix released its first “Netflix Original,” House of Cards. Using the money it had made from its subscription service, Netflix began to produce its own original shows and movies, cutting out the middleman. Additionally, while Cable TV releases episodes weekly with commercial breaks to generate revenue, Netflix receives its revenue from an upfront subscription fee; this allows Netflix to release all of the episodes in a season on the same date, with no ads, allowing its users to “binge watch” and finish a show more quickly, allowing for more instant satisfaction and closure. Seeing the success of Netflix, companies such as Hulu, Amazon, Disney, and Apple have all taken a crack at a streaming service, with more companies soon to follow, such as NBC, leading to increasing competition. Whereas before Netflix stood as Cable’s only competitor, there are now seemingly too many services to count. Bringing it back to 2020, where does this leave the future of Cable Television? Over the past decade, cable TV subscriptions have steadily declined, while streaming subscription numbers have grown. Although numbers may be dwindling, many viewers still prefer the “old way” of watching television.
Despite the benefits in terms of accessibility of streaming, it is dependent on a stable internet connection, something many households, especially in rural areas, may not have. Additionally, Although most streaming services such as Netflix offer a wide variety of original content, they still have to wait for many television programs to air first, therefore incentivizing those who can’t wait for a show to pay for cable. Yet, Hulu with its Live TV streaming option now jeopardizes this aspect of Cable, as well. Although the road ahead may be a rocky one for cable TV, I still firmly believe that as long as it adapts to the times, it can continue to maintain relevant for years to come.
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