April
25
5 Techniques that Determined the Winner of the Streaming War
The streaming war is finally over, and it looks like Netflix has won. Platforms are now deciding to license more TV shows to Netflix, which marks a turning point in the very expensive battle for online streaming supremacy. That brings around the question, what five techniques influenced the outcome of the war?
Exclusive Content
Exclusive content has been a powerful weapon in the streaming war. Platforms spent billions of dollars to create their own films, series and documentaries. Netflix even invested in their own gaming platform, offering original titles. The company chose major markets to beta test their releases, including the US, UK and Canada. Even though they don’t offer a huge variety of games, or any casino-themed games for that matter, players can still play games such as live Lightning Roulette UK at sites like Betfair, taking advantage of exclusive bonus offers and games.
Global Expansion
As the world becomes much more connected, platforms are reaching out to audiences that go beyond their native countries. Although other companies have expanded to other regions, Netflix is present in more than 190 countries. They have also pushed their content to new audiences across the world while releasing content that caters to the unique demographics of the market.
Data-Driven Insights
Streaming platforms employ user data so that they can provide target ads much more efficiently. They can also personalise content recommendations. Sites such as Netflix and Amazon Prime do this very well, by taking into account watching patterns, engagement metrics and even demographic information.
Strategic Alliances
Streaming platforms often participate in alliances and acquisitions in an attempt to boost their content library while increasing their overall market share. Hotstar enhanced its portfolio by acquiring 21st Century Fox, along with HBO Max. Amazon also acquired the exclusive streaming rights to Game of Thrones. When you look at Prime Video, you will see that they have almost 13,000 movies to watch. Netflix only has around 5,000, but with that being said, every single one is free. Amazon users often have to pay to rent, or purchase titles through the platform. A very limited amount is actually free to watch, which reduces catalogue accessibility to users.
Technological Innovations
Another factor that helped some companies to push ahead in the streaming war would be technological innovations. To maximise bandwidth utilisation and boost the overall quality of streams, companies invested heavily in their content production. HDR streaming, 4K, offline viewing and even customised algorithms for recommendations all helped user loyalty and satisfaction.
There are many things that have helped Netflix to speed ahead when it comes to the streaming war. As a result of all the competition, Netflix has announced that they are no longer going to be publishing their streaming numbers to the public. After a hot first quarter, it seems that the company is going to start focusing on its other innovations in an attempt to gain access to a much wider audience. This has helped to cool things off and brought an end to the war, at least for now.