THIS STREAM IS A FLOOD
The great disruption in consumer home entertainment that is now being labeled the Streaming Wars began for me almost 20 years ago.
In December 2000, I signed up for a Netflix account. Receiving DVDs by mail in those iconic red envelopes was a revelation. No more indecisively trudging the aisles of a Blockbuster to select a film, only to return home and have the noose of late fees dangling over my head. With DVDs arriving as if by magic every couple of days, Netflix freed me of those rental shackles and introduced a way to binge-watch series like The Sopranos long before that term found its way into popular culture.
As Netflix launched into streaming in 2007, then original shows in 2013, my viewing habits evolved along with the company. My purchases from Apple’s iTunes shrank, our family canceled our cable TV subscription, and shows like House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black became viewing staples. An entertainment world built around on-demand video promised we would one day have greater choice, convenience, and lower costs.
That day has arrived amid a flurry of titans rolling out video services that aim to make streaming the primary way we consume content. Except nothing is playing out as expected.
Scrolling through this infinite content on multiple streaming platforms looking for something to watch is like a return to the purgatory of Blockbuster’s shelves. Our family now subscribes to five streaming services, and it’s no longer clear that we are saving any money. With the launches of four major streaming services expected to draw a total of 20 million new subscribers this year, according to market research firm Ovum, our joy and our pain will be even more widely shared.
For better and for worse, this maelstrom of competing streaming services is the new normal. The operators of these platforms have near-limitless resources and wildly different business
