Television has changed so much in the last decade that it’s almost ridiculous to still call it television.
More and more people are turning off traditional TV, or cutting the cord as they say in the industry, and opting for online streaming.
Amazon, Hulu, Crackle, Yahoo, iTunes, and other streaming sites have created an entirely new way to receive content.
And if a clip gets picked up by You Tube and goes viral, that’s even better.
One outlet more than any other has changed how we watch movies and TV.
The online streaming service has been blamed for killing the video rental industry – it should be remembered that several years ago Netflix offered to buy Blockbuster, and the video giant turned down the offer, only to go out of business a few years later.
Netflix was founded in 1997. In 1999, it became the first business to offer unlimited movie rentals for a monthly membership.
In 2006. Netflix offered a $1 million prize to anyone who could design a better algorithm for recommending movies, which at the time would usually recommend Napoleon Dynamite for some reason.
In 2007 Netflix began streaming.
In 2013 it began creating original content. House of Cards was the first show it produced.
The culture of Netflix and online streaming is also responsible for the slang term Netflix and Chill – if you don’t know what that means, you’re probably old and married.
Interesting post! I rent the DVD’s still (to get the rare classic) but have begun streaming. Two series we’ve been binging is “Hell on Wheels” and “Sherlock”. I can’t stand commercials. We only watch sports now, on regular television.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Sherlock! Great stuff from the BBC!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m addicted. Cumberbatch and Freeman are the best pair I’ve not seen in years.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m a long-time cord cutter. Netflix and Amazon have actually brought me back into cultural relevance after a long time of not knowing what people were watching on tv. I like being able to chose what I want to watch when I want to watch it. The old channel-flipping method often ended up in me wasting time watching really stupid stuff for no good reason.
Thanks for your post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m old, and married. Guilty as charged.
I have never watched a ‘streamed’ TV show or film online. I can’t keep even up with what I have recorded on the PVR from the ‘normal TV. My stepson has just been here this weekend, berating me for not having Netflix. Maybe one of these days, if I live long enough.
Cheers, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So true, times are changing big time. I have never had traditional television in my home – we always watched off the computer, PlayStation and DVDs/Blu-Rays. What with the Netflix launch in my country recently, we have moved everything to streaming basically, and I love it. So much easier and convenient.
LikeLiked by 1 person