The past decade or so has seen the rapid growth of many different online entertainment platforms as video-on-demand and online streaming have become the preferred method of entertainment for many of us. Modern mobile devices have changed to become multimedia devices too and have enabled these same platforms to grow much larger too – newer opportunities continue to present themselves, and two big moves announced at the end of 2021 could signal a more permanent change for online entertainment as a whole.
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The two big announcements have come from Netflix, and Hollywood giant Warner Bros – the former had announced that they were committed to delivering a new movie release at least every week throughout the year with a total of 71 new titles announced for 2021, setting a new bar on big releases by almost tripling the closest studios which had been sitting around 20 releases per year. Although this approach certainly isn’t sustainable, it does show that there’s an opportunity for online platforms to really push out a large number of big releases – whether or not all will be high quality is yet to be seen as Netflix can be a little spotty, but there will certainly be some gems in the mix.
The latter announcement from Warner Bros came as they had announced all of their big movie releases throughout the year including the likes of The Matrix 4, Wonder Woman, and Dune, would all be released directly to the HBO Max streaming platform alongside big cinema releases – success here could cause a permanent change in the box office approach for many studios, and with online streaming being the target it could cause a permanent change for online entertainment as a whole.
Other markets have already been through the big change, gaming being amongst the biggest that could change the future for online entertainment too as livestreaming has become particularly prevalent and could be shaping other options, with some of the big winners being in the likes of online casinos as there are still some here finding huge presence through these same platforms as more become available away from initiatives such as Gamstop aimed at reducing player participation – as both markets begin to come together for both playing and viewing, it opens up yet more opportunities.
The next year could permanently change online entertainment as offline options become less appealing for many, and with many big companies like Disney announcing that they’re restructuring for the same reasons it is certainly looking to be the way forward for many – given examples already seen, it seems to be less of an instance of whether or not this will be successful but rather just a matter of how successful, as streaming continues to lead the way for the bigger entertainment platforms.
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