How Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are changing the way of home entertainment?

Revolutionizing Home Entertainment

Revolutionizing Home Entertainment

There was a time in 1970s when entertainment was all about listening to BBC’s Test Match Special, Binaca Geetmala or Forces’ Request on a transistor radio. Then by the early 80s, the television came into existence and found a place in the corner of some homes (as everyone couldn’t afford it) with rabbit ears jutting out from its top. With the invention of television sets came Government-run Doordarshan bringing entertainment with it. Shows like Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi made us laugh, Buniyaad made us cry and we even worshipped television when shows like Ramayan and Mahabharat were telecasted. This was considered the golden age of Indian television and it bound Indians together every evening: one family, one nation, one channel, one culture.

With both time and the development of technology, the home entertainment took various twists and turns and drastically changed the way of watching televison by the TV fans in the last several years. Today, internet is taking over everything and is also becoming the default manner in which TV is used for entertainment.

Netflix and Amazon Prime Video: Revolutionizing Home Entertainment

The influx of the streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video expeditiously changed how the average person watches TV, giving a complete new dimension to the home entertainment. Where these streaming services provided unlimited access to large amounts of movies and television shows from different parts of the world, cable networks gave its subscribers limited viewing options. The subscribers of the Netflix and Amazon Prime Video enjoy shows and movies that would never make it to the standard cable networks or the traditional commercial broadcast networks. While large broadcast companies restricted to conventional plotlines and characters for most of their shows, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video created content based on different themes and plotlines to cater to the large masses.

Netflix and Amazon Prime Video offers their streaming services at a cost less than a cable service. This is a big relief to the people who are reluctant to pay exorbitant prices to watch their favorites shows and movies. The libraries of the both the streaming services are filled with good number of titles. They make available new and exciting content for their viewers. Some of the most popular shows currently streaming on them are originally produced by either Amazon Prime Video or Netflix.

As the streaming services is subscription-based, it removes the annoyance of ad-breaks and changes the way stories are told. This prevents ruining viewer’s suspension of disbelief by suddenly shoving them out of meticulously crafted story-worlds. There is no need of manipulative act-break cliff-hangers, which is a misfit within the narrative, to prevent channel hopping.

The popularity of the streaming services shifted interest of the people away from once popular stereotypical shows to new and unique shows. Both the streaming services offered a full season of the shows to be watched in complete succession. This element of these services manifests in various forms, two of which seem to enjoy great popularity, ‘bingeing or binge watching’ and ‘marathoning or marathon watching’. Releasing all the shows at once grants freedom to its viewers to watch their favourite as per their convenience. They are free to press pause and take a break from their show whenever they want. They can also refer to previous plot-points if they’re lost. Being able to stream almost any show or movie at anytime, massively attracted the viewers. Providing a complete family entertainment package with a wide variety of entertainment options for every member of the family, these streaming services have become an alternative to the soaring pricing of cable and satellite subscriptions.

Conclusion

With the success of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, we can easily deduce that people are ready to experience something different. The increasing popularity of these streaming services is a clear indication that they can put cable companies out of business. The successful and award winning television shows and movies created and produced by the streaming companies are most watched on the planet. The cable companies are trying hard to create the same magic as the streaming companies but were unsuccessful. Streaming companies are transforming the entertainment industry and there is no doubt that both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video will lead the way to the next development in entertainment.

Stay tuned to the latest Sacred Games on Netflix featuring Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Radhika Apte in the lead!