How Netflix is Changing the World

Most certainly, Netflix is a game changer in the TV and movie industry. 

Unlike traditional cable TV, Netflix is an on demand online platform that allows subscribers to watch any programme or show whenever they desire and as many times as possible.

Depending on what side one looks at it from, there are losers and gainers involved by the revolution brought about and other social implications. The big winners are consumers as other players try to play catch up. The losers on the other hand are Cable TVs and the traditional distributors like movie theatres such as IMAX. So what exactly do the changes mean?

First is the shift in mentality.

For the longest, consumers have been used to watching popular TV shows in doses. People were accustomed to catching one episode amid interruptions by commercial breaks, then waiting for the next episode eagerly. This created excitement to catch up the next episode the next day and forced people to form delayed gratification mentality. That has now completely changed with Netflix. Netflix just drops a bombshell of the entire season at once. They did so with the much talked about “Orange is the new black” series. Movie enthusiasts can binge through every episode and watch the episodes back to back. This takes people away from the conditioning of delayed gratification to instant gratification which will require a mental shift.

There also social implications involved.

The number of relationships that have sprouted out of the movie theatre are mind-boggling. Couples, lifelong friendships are synonymous with movie theatres. All that now risks to disappear in the face of Netflix. Today college students who are big fans of Netflix would prefer staying in bed all day to catch up with a movie or series on Netflix. This may lead to an anti-social group of young citizens who prefer microwave popcorn and a laptop to a movie theatre. Gone will be the days when friends at work meet during lunch break to discuss what they expect in the next episode of a popular TV show, the social catalyst in the name of weekly TV doses will be gone.

It is also possible that Netflix will change the economic dynamics of the entertainment industry. Key stakeholders in the industry have been noted as saying that Netflix cuts the cost of watching TV up to 80 percent. This means that some major players may have to exit the industry or look for ways to catch up.

Moral of the Story: What remains clear is that Netflix is changing the world in a profound way. It has brought a new experience in watching TV with some of the long boring and cumbersome ads gone. The future of the industry however, remains uncertain because no one knows what tomorrow holds. In the meantime, consumers stand to benefit whichever turn the industry takes as TV watching gets more convenient, cheaper and easily accessible.

Kwame

Owner, Springbreak Watches