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Digital Media Concepts/Streaming Platforms

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Streaming Platforms are online services that allows us to see movies and TV shows without necessarily needing a TV. These platforms allows users to stream shows on their PC, laptop, tablet, and phones as well. The streaming platforms also provides us with movies and TV shows that have been released from the past. Platforms were developed during the 1990s for video streaming but they were experiments, not in good quality, and were not as popular as the streaming platforms today.

History

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Development of Steaming Platforms

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RealNetworks Company

Before streaming platforms were developed, people would either go the theaters, watch their TV, or buy VHS tapes so they can be entertained. The problems were that it costs a lot of money to buy tickets for the theaters, TVs were not high quality like the TVs today, and VHS tapes were expensive. During the early 1990s, streaming has been developed by different electronic companies. RealNetworks launched RealVideo, one of the first testing platforms for streaming videos, in 1997.[1] After that, many platforms were made to test out on streaming videos.

First Streaming Platform

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YouTube Logo

On Valentine’s Day in 2005, YouTube was released and became the first streaming platform in history. YouTube was created by three former PayPal employees named Steve Chen, Jawed Karim, and Chad Hurley. It became more widely known when Saturday Night Live aired a video short called “Lazy Sunday” in December of the same year. In 2006, Google bought YouTube since Google tried to get into the video sharing business by creating their own videos called “Google Videos” but their videos failed.[2] Five years later after YouTube was released, the creators decided to publish movies to help monetize this site.[3]

When Karim, Chan, and Hurley created YouTube, the original idea was that they wanted to create an online dating website that allows users to upload videos about themselves and their interests.[4] However, this idea didn’t make the cut so YouTube ended up being a website where people can posts videos of their experiences. YouTube is now filled a variety of different videos like video game playthroughs, movie clips, cartoons made by talented individuals, school tutorials, and recordings.

Examples of Streaming Platforms

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Netflix

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Netflix Logo

Netflix was first found in 1997 by two workers named Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings. When Netflix was found in 1997, it first started out as a DVD rental website since they only offered online movie rentals and the website wasn’t able to stream movies and TV shows.[5] It started streaming in 2007 to allow members to watch shows on their PCs. Starting with House of Cards in 2013, Netflix began making its own original shows and movies.

They created Netflix because they were inspired by Amazon’s business model and they wanted to sell items on their website. They first initially wanted to sell VHS tapes on their website but they rejected the tapes and settled for DVDs.[6] After 10 years of selling DVDs on their website and increased membership, Netflix started streaming movies and TV shows on their website but it was for members only during that time.[7]

Disney+

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Disney+ Logo

Since Disney has bought a lot of companies (PIXAR, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, National Geographic, and FOX), they wanted to created a streaming platform to show all of the movies and TV shows made by these companies including themselves. Before the Pandemic started in early March, 2020, Disney+ was released worldwide in November 2019 as a way for people to watch any of their favorite movies and TV shows made from Disney and the other companies they bought. People can watch shows featuring “Star Wars” or marvel characters as well as the Disney classics they grew up watching. In 2016, Disney announced that they were going into the streaming market with the help of BAMTech. Even though the platform had a small content library than Netflix when it first released, it offers more quality movies and TV shows since the companies Disney purchased are developing content for the platform.[8]

HBO Max

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HBO Max Logo

HBO Max was launched on May 27, 2020 after the Pandemic started. They created this streaming platform to not only compete with Netflix and Disney+, they also wanted to attract more customers to HBO. In addition to Warner Brothers’ films and original shows, this streaming service also has Studio Ghibli films and Friends. This streaming platform also features shows from Cartoon Network, along with Sesame Street and Looney Tunes. Before HBO Max was launched, there were other platforms that HBO released. HBO Now was released in 2015 and is similar to HBO Max except it was meant for people who are cord cutters that don’t have subscription for cable.[9]

Other Streaming Platforms

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While YouTube, Disney+, HBO Max, and Netflix are some of the best streaming platforms in the world, there are other streaming platforms that other electronic companies released.

Pros & Cons of Streaming Platforms

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Advantages of Streaming Platforms

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Ever since more streaming platforms were created, there were advantages of using them.

  1. Streaming platforms can allow for certain TV shows and movies to be more accessible.
  2. People don’t have to watch movies on a TV screen since streaming platforms can be purchased on a computer, PC, laptop, and any other electronic devices.
  3. Streaming platforms also provide entertainment for passengers on road trips since passengers can use them on their phones to keep themselves entertained while they are heading towards their destination.
  4. For people who love sports, they don’t have to travel long distances to an arena to watch a sports game since they can use streaming platforms.

Downside of Streaming Platforms

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Even though there are advantages of using streaming platform, there are also some downsides of using them.

  1. It discourages people to socialize with others and decreases the children’s success at school.
  2. Even though people don’t have to buy tickets to the theaters, some streaming platforms cost a lot of money and they have to pay their subscription once a month to keep the streaming platform.
  3. Streaming platforms remove a show or movie to make room for new ones and this upsets people because one of the removed movies or TV show might be their favorite.
  4. Users must have internet access in order to access the streaming platforms, otherwise they can’t use them.
  5. Users can easily lose track of time. To combat this problem, users would have to have good time management skills.

References

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  1. ↑ "The Fascinating History of Live Streaming". Ultimate Live Streaming Hub – Restream Blog. 2021-02-02. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  2. ↑ Watson, Joe (2021-06-23). "When Did Google Buy YouTube, Why and for How Much". WATSON POST. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  3. ↑ "YouTube turns movie rental outlet". 2010-01-21. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  4. ↑ "YouTube's History and Its Impact on the Internet". interestingengineering.com. 2020-07-03. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  5. ↑ "Netflix". CompaniesHistory.com - The largest companies and brands in the world. 2014-01-23. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  6. ↑ "The Fascinating History of Netflix". interestingengineering.com. 2020-07-04. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  7. ↑ "About Netflix - Homepage". About Netflix. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  8. ↑ "Disney Plus Revenue and Usage Statistics (2022)". Business of Apps. 2020-05-05. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  9. ↑ Leswing, Kif (2020-05-27). "HBO Max online service just launched in the U.S. — here's a first look". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
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