Audio-visual entertainment has been a core part of our lives right from cradle to adulthood. Be it sports, TV shows and even movies, we consciously made out time for various programs based on the ones that interest us the most.
Regardless of how busy our schedules maybe, majority of people anxiously anticipates a recast of shows they had missed on earlier. With the wind of change came a significant development in increased speed in internet connectivity as well as the invention. This gave rise to smartphones, laptops, tablets and other gadgets, which helped people to adjust from the stagnancy of visual entertainment to the newly invented movable forms.
The last decade in the entertainment industry is characterized with a paradigm shift, as it is that everyone can now watch as well as listen to visuals and audio materials wherever they may be using their digital devices. This, they can do in as much as they can access a decent internet connection.
Essentially, it is important to point out that the entertainment business evolved for the better at the dawn of the 21st century. With this, streaming apps/website such as Netflix ushered in an improved way of accessing TV shows and films.
Before the introduction of Netflix, we trooped into cinemas to watch the latest films, but as you can rightly tell, the tides have changed as we no longer feel the need to see movies in film houses or cinemas. Ultimately, what this means is that, with streaming apps such as Netflix, you can easily watch any movie of TV show right from the comfort of your bedroom.
More so, more values have been added through streaming platforms to the entertainment industry. Such values focus on three aspects, which includes: original shows, mobility of the viewing experience and a wide range of products.
Top Movie Streaming Apps Redefining the Entertainment Industry
There are several movie streaming apps. However, we have the top-ranking streaming sites and app which you should know.
PopcornFlix was launched in 2010. One of PopcornFlix’s offers includes free ad-powered streaming video of webisodes and feature-length movies. That aside, PopcornFlix also have original contents including film school originals and web series.
Walt Disney is the main owner of Hulu, which is another application that has gained massive entrance into the video streaming industry.
Hulu, a video-on-demand service contains full season partners. More so, even as in the first half of 2019 it had acquired over 28 million subscribers.
Another video-on-demand service that competes with the other existing top players is Disney+, which is owned and operated by Walt Disney Company. Disney+ shows movies and television contents which are created by the Disney publication. However, it is expected to extend its services on PCs, smart Video game consoles, etc. Guess what? All these movie streaming services from Disney+ are all in a high-resolution 4K and HDR formats.
A main revolutionary mobile app in the entertainment industry is YouTube. The video-sharing media application was created by Steve Chen, Jawed Karim and Chad Hurley in February 2005. Google acquired it in 2006 and now functions as one of its subordinates with features like; offline accessibility, free to view content, exclusive content commissioned from reputed personalities and others.
Worthy of note is the fact that Netflix tops the list of movie streaming apps for Android and iOS platforms. Founded in 1997 by Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings. The app has currently acquired over 148 million paid subscriptions with its exciting business model and structure.
See Why Movie Streaming Apps/Websites are Getting Popular
Movies streaming apps is no doubt one of those inventions that has gained much acceptance. This is majorly because of the numerous benefits that come with them. Among such benefits are:
- Personalization
Video streaming mobile applications work on a mechanism that analyzes user behavior and creates a complete buffet of recommended content. Therefore, users get access to a series of movies that they wish to view depending on their preferences. With this, increment in the app engagement count is stimulated.
- Convenience/Ease of Access
The foremost reason why streaming video entertainment business is booming is convenience. These applications give users freedom from being tied to their TV screens. They make it possible for them to watch any movie while they are standing in a queue, riding on a train even when taking a tea break.
- Cheap and Affordable
One of the main pillars behind the shift from Cable TV screening to streaming applications is their cost-effectiveness.
As you already know, media streaming apps are giving access to a vast range of digital content in real-time, and almost at zero fees.
Current Challenges Streaming Apps/Websites Are Experiencing
Like the two sides of a coin, streaming apps/websites has numerous benefits as well as challenges. These challenges include the following:
- Ease of Piracy
Piracy is a major challenge faced by the media unit. This is more because not every media provider invests in the right set of security measures. With this, it, therefore, becomes very easy for users to create pirated copies of different digital contents and upload the same on different platforms. As a result of this, the right credit does not come to the authorized and original owners of the contents.
- Devices Compatibility
Ensuring that every user can gain access to video is another challenge faced by the media unit.
Although there are some fully adaptive streams that adjust to every resolution and bitrate, not all video providers can deliver this experience.
- Bandwidth Limitations
Furthermore, as the number of consumers viewing online content continues to rise, the bandwidth limitation gets worse. This makes it challenging for media organizations to deliver the highest resolution of video content at the appropriate time.
- Storage of Media Files
In addition, with the challenge of creating and storing media file, so also is the prevailing growth in demand for fresh online content in the industry. Currently, it is becoming tougher for digital media providers to determine locations to keep the bulk of files and effectively manage them.
Conclusion
Movie streaming apps/ websites have come to stay due to the simplicity that has come with it. This is evident in the ease of access to movies, music as well as TV shows.
However, despite the ease that comes with the use of streaming apps, they still have one or two challenges to battle.
Nevertheless, streaming apps and websites are still worthy of recognition due to their contribution to the advancement recorded in the entertainment industry.
