I was sitting in the dining hall with a friend the other day eating lunch when I found myself in an intense conversation with her about the fate of cable TV. We agreed that with the rise of several video streaming services, the subscriptions to cable TV has been declining. Each streaming service has its pros and cons, but as they all strive to beat each other out we couldn’t help but wonder...who will be the victorious one?
YouTube Red
YouTube Red was originally released in November 2014 as a service that users could buy for ad-free videos and music. Over the years, YouTube Red transformed itself by adding YouTube Red original movies and shows exclusive to the site. Prominent YouTube personalities such as iiSuperWomanii and PewDiePie have released movies and shows through the site.
Hulu
This streaming service is a little different from the rest as you can actually watch episodes of seasons currently on air. Additionally, Hulu definitely played a smart move with its deal with Spotify. If there’s one thing college students can’t live without it's their music and by including Hulu free with a Spotify subscription, Hulu has definitely upped its game. Not to mention Hulu has also released some amazing originals most notably the recent, "The Handmaid's Tale," which won two awards at the Golden Globes this year.
Amazon Prime
Personally for me, Amazon Prime is currently one of the weaker streaming services. Don’t get me wrong I love Amazon. But Amazon Prime doesn’t have enough shows for me to watch. I do however love that Amazon allows you to download and watch offline your favorite shows in a hassle free way. And of course, Amazon is where I get my daily dose of the show "Suits."
Netflix
Netflix has done well for itself in terms of establishing a name. Now, whenever I ask anyone what they do in their free time I almost always get the response Netflix. The shift from people simply saying I watch a lot of TV to specifically saying “I watch a lot of Netflix” emphasizes how well Netflix is doing for itself in the streaming industry. Like some of the previously mentioned streaming services, Netflix offers not only a wide variety of shows but also a wide variety of Netflix originals, like "Stranger Things," "Orange is the New Black" or "House of Cards."
These shows have not only done well but they’ve produced a loyal base of fans for Netflix. One of the concerning things about Netflix, however, is its price increases Recently Netflix changed their standard service price from $9.99 monthly to $10.99 and their premium service from $11.99 to $13.99. While these price differences don’t seem that crazy, they’re definitely far off from the original $7.99 Netflix started off with. If Netflix keeps increasing their price, I’m not sure how much longer people will continue to buy it.
In my personal opinion, I think that Netflix will win the streaming wars: they’ve got the customer loyalty, the shows, and the ease.
And there are so many video streaming services that still may pop up. There are talks of Disney releasing their own video service which could disrupt the industry and then again we can’t ignore that illegal streaming is still very much prevalent, as well. So who knows, maybe someone new will enter the arena to fight these big dogs.
