I’m working on a longer piece on the seeming wealth of movie and TV streaming/VOD/digital platforms that are currently available, not only in the USA, but around the world. And to assist me, I’d like to get your input, via a survey; specifically, of all the existing platforms you’re aware of, which do you use most? List 5 (if you can).
There are the obvious kings of industry like Netflix, iTunes, and Amazon, as well as growing competition from the likes of Hulu, and even YouTube, Google Play, and Vimeo. Vudu is Walmart’s pay-per-content store. But there are countless other players who have long been in the space, or who recently entered, like the video game box manufacturers, XBOX and the Playstation Network; there’s LoveFilm in the UK, which is an Amazon subsidiary but serves UK audiences; iRokoTV where you can currently get your Nollywood (Nigerian cinema) fix online, although the company continues to expand its offerings; Buni.TV is also African content focused; there are indie film friendly sites like Reelhouse and VHX; and recently, even the TV networks themselves are offering unbundled standalone services that will offer even more competition, like HBO and Showtime.
One key obvious characteristic that separates the power houses like Netflix and Amazon from many of the others is that they also produce their own content, and don’t rely strictly on licensing the content of others. Although some of the license-content-to-stream-only platforms are also getting into original content creation, operating almost like Hollywood studios – financing (even if it may not be equal to what Hollywood studios spend; although Netflix would have something to say about that), producing, distribution, and also exhibiting content, accessible on a myriad of devices, and on demand.
But there are countless web-based streaming (whether pay or ad-based) services available to you. I’m certain that there are many I haven’t even heard of.
So which of these services – not only those I mentioned here – do you use most often? List 5 of them.