Who remembers the last time they leafed through a print version of TVGuide to check their favorite show’s schedule then plan out the day just so they’d be in front of the TV just in time? I’m pretty sure not in the recent past. Unless of course you’re stuck in the 80s.
Fact is, the “television” has somewhat evolved into your laptop’s 15″ display panel or your smartphone’s 5.2″ FullHD screen. You don’t have to be at home on your couch or in a theater with 300 other people. You can watch your favorite flix on the way to work, while on the subway, heck even while taking a du… I mean, duck to the vet.
Video on demand (VOD) first became a thing in the 90s using technologies such as Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) to stream low resolution to DVD quality content to homes or establishments through set-top boxes, computers or other devices. Yes VOD has been around a while but not at the current global scale. In a Nielsen online survey in 61 countries, nearly two-thirds of global respondents, say they watch some form of VOD programming, which includes long- and short-form content and because of the Internet and video streaming sources such as Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV, Chromecast, Youtube and countless others, television has been transformed. You can increasingly watch the content you love on your own terms – on the screen of your choice.
Out of all current video on demand providers, Netflix is my favorite. According to a 2016 Netflix survey, more than 70% of their subscribers said they binge-watch shows. Netflix has successfully continued to release its original content by making the whole season available at once, acknowledging changing viewer habits. This means I can watch episodes at a time of my choosing rather than having to watch just one episode a week at a specific scheduled time; this effectively gives me freedom and control over when to watch the next episode at my own pace. In just a few months, I’ve binge-watched shows like Stranger Things, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Narcos, Black Mirror, Travelers, The Expanse, and Shooter.
This is enough writing. Netflix just released a whole season of “The Defenders”. You know what I’ll be doing this weekend.
Sources: http://www.nielsen.com/ph/en/insights/reports/2016/video-on-demand.html, http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/2/14/house-of-cards-netflixtelevision.html
