The big news in Hollywood came towards the end of last year as it seems a major shift to streaming could be on the way with Warner Bros shifting to a reliance on video-on-demand throughout 2021, with the success found through other services like Netflix too it did seem as if the shift was inevitable, but is streaming and video-on-demand really the way forward for the movie industry, and where are the pros and cons in a potential change?
Too many services may hurt the change – Whilst there are certainly many excited at the possibility of a shift towards video-on-demand, there’s also a big drawback that has hurt streaming as a whole. If the big studios are to split their offerings amongst all of the big streaming services, the price soon tacks on as the requirement for multiple subscriptions could deter some, this has already become a problem as the big names in Netflix, Prime, Disney+, HBO Max, and many others are already prevalent. Unless a unified service is offered, there will be some that struggle to succeed where others succeed.
A good blueprint does exist – On the other hand, there is already a good blueprint for success for the change as some sectors have made a successful change to the online space – the biggest certainly remains in the gaming industry as the closure of land-based services has led to the rise of many online services in both betting and gambling, growing popularity for sites like us-bookies.com have helped those identify some of the best services – if video-on-demand can move in the same direction as these online gaming services, then success would be all but guaranteed.
Uncertainty around the past year – Perhaps the most important thing to be considered around this change is that there are those on either side arguing whether or not the success already found may be due to the pandemic, or just a sign of change as a whole. For those that believe the success found in the few releases over the past year are just a signal of a response to being stuck at home, the thought is that the same interest wouldn’t be seen if traditional services were still available. On the other hand, there are just as many who believe that this was a natural progression, and that streaming is just the next step forward. Only time will tell, but this next year will certainly be the most impactful signal of change.
It’s certainly going to be an interesting year for major releases, and perhaps even an answer to the question of whether or not streaming is the way forward, but the tentative answer is certainly looking to be a yes as many of the biggest services continue to succeed, and the newest releases pull in growing numbers.
