SLATE: Impact of Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) on entertainment industry

stazhao (61)in #bitcoin • 6 years ago

No one can deny the importance of entertainment in our life. It has become a necessity and provides an escape from our busy and hectic lifestyle. It provides pleasure and a sense of tranquility that is crucial to our health and well-being. This is the reason the entertainment industry is growing at a phenomenal pace and globally generates a revenue close to two trillion dollars annually. The global entertainment industry can be divided into several sectors but for many it simply means film industry. When we talk about film industry, one name comes to our mind and that is Hollywood which is considered as the epicenter of film industry.

New Trends

The entertainment industry like every other industry is continuously evolving but the influence of Hollywood is still intact although its role in the industry is much different today. Hollywood is no more the lone pillar of movie industry; streaming service providers have now emerged as new powerful players. The exponential growth of these platforms providing subscription video on demand (SVOD) is a proof of their popularity.

These platforms are today much powerful and their role in the industry cannot be ignored. There is a fierce competition between the studios and streamers as who controls the industry and, in this situation, consumers are the clear beneficiary. The content consumers are now enjoying the privilege of unprecedented selection available to them. But this ongoing tussle is between two highly centralized oligopolistic groups, on one side are the studios and on the other side are streaming corporations. It doesn’t matter which side the power tilts, the industry would remain centralized. The traditional infrastructure of film industry is functioning but it is inherently flawed. There is a need to look for a better solution that would lift the quality of entertainment content and at the same time would safeguard the financial interests of the content creators.

New Market Preferences

If we look at the history of entertainment industry, we will observe that technological innovations have brought so many changes in the ecosystem of the industry. The most significant impact on the industry has been done by the platforms providing subscription video on demand (SVOD). These streaming networks like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime have brought a revolution in the entertainment industry by providing access to cable-quality high-definition video that is now considered as a high-speed internet alternative to the existing cable costumers.

This has changed the dynamics of entertainment industry; the consumers’ options have altered altogether. Today the movie theaters and cable television are dealing with an entirely different viewership. According to the recent studies, movie theaters are still popular but younger audiences would prefer streaming content either on their mobile gadgets or laptops.

There is no doubt that the streaming networks have improved the quality of entertainment and consumers have access to broad range of high quality content but these platforms do not solve the existing problems.

The actual problem in entertainment industry is the imbalance of power between the content creator and the service provider. The content creators are the main contributors to the entertainment industry but unfortunately, they are powerless before the giant SVOD providers. They lack the negotiating power and are forced to give up most of their rights including ownership and other financial benefits.

This imbalance of power is hindering the natural growth of the industry. Considering the flaws existing in the current economic model of entertainment industry, there is need for revolutionary innovation which will be provided by the most innovative blockchain enabled SLATE platform.