Netflix is changing the World of TV

Netflix is changing the World of TV

If you haven’t heard of Netflix, then you’re probably living under a rock. What I mean to say is that Netflix is currently dominating the on-demand media streaming industry. Netflix provides current on-demand content, creates original programs and uses user data to best serve their customers. They are the first company to cause major disruption in TV by forcing cable companies to change the way they do business. Netflix’s success is, quite possibly, the first step in the unbundling of cable. Pun intended.

While everyone knows what Netflix is, you may not know the details in their evolution. Netflix began back in 1997 competing with video rental stores like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. Netflix would mail consumers DVDs based on their selections and the consumers would mail them back within their rental timeframe. It wasn’t until 2007 that Netflix launched their streaming services, making it possible to watch TV and movies from your computer, tablet, TV screen, smart phone or gaming device. This new service made it possible to watch new and old TV shows and movies. Consumers could now watch what they wanted, when they wanted and where they wanted. 

Netflix has broken the mold in many ways. Until a few years ago, most TV networks didn’t allow online streaming and they certainly didn’t have an app for it. Because Netflix has been so progressive in how they allow their users to stream content, TV networks have been forced to evolve in order to try to keep up.

With original shows and movies hitting the screen, Netflix shows no signs of slowing down. It has become more popular than cable TV and YouTube. Per Variety, “The survey, conducted in May, asked which platforms respondents used most often to view video content on TV. 27% of respondents answered Netflix, followed by 20% for basic cable, 18% for broadcast TV and 11% for YouTube. Among those aged 18-34, Netflix scored 40%, followed by YouTube at 17%, basic cable at 12.6%m, Hulu at 7.6% and broadcast TV at 7.5%.”

“Over the long term, assuming Netflix is able to continue to increasingly offer great content, this lead clearly bodes well for further value creation,” wrote a Cowen & Co. analysts in a research note. So as Netflix continues to release tons of original content, audiences continue to favor Netflix as their go-to content provider.

Netflix has recently stepped up their original movie and series content and they’ve done so by utilizing some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Actors like Jennifer Aniston, Adam Sandler, Sandra Bullock, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Jack Black, Jake Gyllenhaal, Eric Bana, Ben Affleck, Ben Stiller, Christina Applegate and Chris Rock are lining up to take part in the Netflix Empire. Netflix has also given solid career starts to several young actors. For example, the kids from Stranger Things, (Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Sadie Sink, Noah Schnapp and Caleb McLaughlin) who were unknown prior to the shows release, are now household names and are landing roles in hit movies like IT and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

The bottom line is this – Netflix has no plans of slowing down. Their empire will continue to grow, and it could eventually become the main provider for TV and Movies. If you’re not on the band wagon, you better get on because the future is Netflix.