Wild Card Paper:

Streaming Services: 

For my wildcard paper I decided to build off of one of our presentations that was assigned to us this semester television genres. I want to take a dive into how streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon prime video, etc. are changing how we watch TV around the globe. Netflix has over 148 million paying subscribers as of 2019 but this doesn't include the free trial users if you count them it's closer to 155 million users. This doesn't include the people that mooch off of other peoples accounts or families that have multiple profiles on one account. Netflix makes up more than 30% of the world's streaming services. Hulu is not as popular Netflix but still has over 25 million subscribers to their streaming service around the world. However, who is expecting a large increase in users after they agreed to make a package deal with Disney's new streaming service Disney+. this new package offered through Disney features Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu. A recent survey was done where people were ask which streaming service they prefer of course Netflix was first but surprisingly second was Amazon Prime's streaming service. Now even though Disney+ is one of the least popular ones done in this survey it is also expected to grow in users through the next year as this just became available recently. Here in the US the big four streaming services that dominate the world of television in order are Netflix, YouTube TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu. 

Not all countries have the same streaming services as us for instance India has several different streaming services they rely on. Hotstar is the number one screening service in India with 40.8% of the population subscribing to the service. Hotstar is known for being India's largest media streaming platform with over 100,000 hours of entertainment and movies come in over 17 different languages. This streaming service offers television series, sports, and they even stream live news through their application. Some other genres include drama, reality TV, mythology, documentaries, biopics, etc. Another popular streaming service in India is called Jio TV. Jio TV offers Live streaming TV channels and programs you might've missed in the past seven days. They offer over 500 television channels and 60 HD streaming channels. You can watch the streaming service on basically any device like your laptop, phone, or any other personal device. Another popular streaming service in India it Is called Voot. It was launched in March 2016 and offers over 40,000 hours of streaming. The company is actually headquartered in India and it is only used by India plus some parts of the United Kingdom. Voot streams multiple channels and some that are very popular here in the United States like nickelodeon or MTV. 

As I mentioned before Netflix is one of the most popular streaming services around the world and makes up 70% of all global streaming. Netflix has many reasons why it is so popular but one of these reasons is it offers different content in different countries. For example, here in the US they add popular shows from here in America but in places like India they add content that is popular over there. I actually found a very cool website called Finder.com that allows you to view all shows and movies that are available on that countries Netflix. Greece has their own version of Netflix but it does include series that are popular here like 13 Reasons Why and a Series of Unfortunate Events. After looking through this website this seems to be the case in most countries Netflix ad shows that are popular to that region and then adds their own Netflix originals for viewing around the globe. The list goes on and on of the different places around the world using this service like Kenya, the Czech Republic, Kuwait, Malaysia, and so many more. This is why I believe Netflix is so popular around the world d to their customization to fit the region and adding their original series for everyone to watch benefiting their company even more. 

PCMag.com recently released an article that list the best video streaming services for 2019. Netflix being the number one choice of course follow by YouTube TV, Disney+, and Hulu. They do a breakdown of why they chose these certain services. They do a breakdown of the overall prices, how much content is offered, which demographic it fits best, and if it offers live television. For example, FuboTV is recommended for the sports fanatic as its main service is catering to the sports world starting at $54.99 a month which is rather pricey compared to $8.99 monthly fee with more content to offer. However, I think 2019's newest and biggest streaming service to step up to the plate is Disney's new streaming service Disney+. the monthly fee only being $6.99 and also caters to a family demographic. They took a page out of Netflix's book and have created their own original series. For instance their original series The Mandalorian a Star Wars franchised series has already gained a massive Fanbase with only five episodes out for subscribers to watch. I also created a series based off the infamous high school musical franchise and having all of the Marvel movies available to stream through their service is also bringing in more subscribers. Streaming services around the world are changing the way we watch television whether it be through Netflix or India's Hotstar people are moving away from the age of cable.