Editing Streaming media (section)

=== Streaming wars ===
{{See also|List of streaming media services}}
{{Redirect|Streaming wars|the South Park film|South Park The Streaming Wars}}{{For|competition between music streaming platforms|#Music streaming platforms}}{{History of American television}}
The term ''streaming wars'' was coined to describe the new era (starting in the late 2010s) of competition between video streaming services such as [[Netflix]], [[Amazon Prime Video]], [[Hulu]], [[Max (streaming service)|Max]], [[Disney+]], [[Paramount+]], [[Apple TV+]], [[Peacock (streaming service)|Peacock]], and many more.<ref name=StreamingWars>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/streaming-wars|title=Streaming Wars|website=The Verge|access-date=1 December 2019|archive-date=6 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206031626/https://www.theverge.com/streaming-wars|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chalaby |first1=Jean K |title=The streaming industry and the platform economy: An analysis |journal=[[Media, Culture & Society]] |year=2024 |volume=46 |issue=3 |pages=552–571 |doi=10.1177/01634437231210439 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

The competition between increasingly popular online platforms, such as Netflix and Amazon, and legacy broadcasters and studios moving online, like Disney and NBC, has driven each service to find ways to differentiate from one another. A key differentiator has been offering exclusive content, often self-produced and created for a specific [[market segment]]. 

When Netflix first launched in 2007, it became one of the more dominant streaming platforms even though it initially offered no original content. It would be nearly a half-dozen years before Netflix began offering its own shows, such as House of Cards, Orange Is the New Black, and Hemlock Grove. The legacy services also began producing original digital-only content, but they also began restricting their back catalog of shows and movies to their platforms, one of the most notable examples being Disney+. Disney took advantage of owning popular movies and shows like Frozen, Snow White, and the Star Wars and Marvel franchises, which could draw in more subscribers and make it a more serious competitor to Netflix and Amazon.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why the Streaming Wars Will Change the TV Industry Forever {{!}} Paramount |url=https://www.paramount.com/news/why-the-streaming-wars-will-change-the-tv-industry-forever |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=www.paramount.com |language=en}}</ref> Research suggests that this approach to streaming competition can be disadvantageous for consumers by increasing spending across platforms, and for the industry as a whole by dilution of subscriber base. Once specific content is made available on a streaming service, piracy searches for the same content decrease; competition or legal availability across multiple platforms appears to deter online piracy. Exclusive content produced for subscription services such as Netflix tends to have a higher production budget than content produced exclusively for [[pay-per-view]] services, such as Amazon Prime Video.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Streaming wars (Creative Economy Notes Series)|url=https://www.wipo.int/edocs/infogdocs/creative_industries/en/streaming-wars|access-date=29 December 2021|website=wipo.int|language=en}}</ref>

This competition increased during the first two years of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] as more people stayed home and watched TV. "The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a seismic shift in the film & TV industry in terms of how films are made, distributed, and screened. Many industries have been hit by the economic effects of the pandemic" (Totaro Donato).<ref name=":2" /> In August 2022, a CNN headline declared that "The streaming wars are over" as pandemic-era restrictions had largely ended and audience growth had stalled. This led services to focus on profit over market share by cutting production budgets, cracking down on password sharing, and introducing ad-supported tiers.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/11/media/streaming-disney-netflix/index.html |title=The streaming wars are over |publisher=[[CNN]] |first=Frank |last=Pallotta |date=11 August 2022 |access-date=19 August 2022 |archive-date=19 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819180708/https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/11/media/streaming-disney-netflix/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A December 2022 article in ''[[The Verge]]'' echoed this, declaring an end to the "golden age of the streaming wars".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cranz |first=Alex |date=14 December 2022 |title=The golden age of the streaming wars has ended |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/12/14/23507793/streaming-wars-hbo-max-netflix-ads-residuals-warrior-nun |access-date=29 December 2022 |website=[[The Verge]] |archive-date=29 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229202957/https://www.theverge.com/2022/12/14/23507793/streaming-wars-hbo-max-netflix-ads-residuals-warrior-nun |url-status=live }}</ref>

In September 2023, several streaming services formed a [[trade association]] named the Streaming Innovation Alliance (SIA), spearheaded by [[Charles Rivkin]] of the [[Motion Picture Association]] (MPA). Former [[U.S. representative]] [[Fred Upton]] and former [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) acting chair [[Mignon Clyburn]] serve as senior advisors. Founding members include AfroLandTV, America Nu Network, [[BET+]], [[Demand Africa|The Africa Channel]], [[Discovery+]], FedNet, For Us By Us Network, In the Black Network, [[Max (streaming service)|Max]], [[Motion Picture Association]], MotorTrend+, [[Netflix]], [[Paramount+]], [[Peacock (streaming service)|Peacock]], [[Pluto TV]], Radiant, SkinsPlex, [[Telemundo]], [[TelevisaUnivision]], TVEI, Vault TV, [[Vix (streaming service)|Vix]], and [[The Walt Disney Company]]. Notably absent were [[Apple Inc.|Apple]], [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]], [[Roku]], and [[Tubi]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Huston |first=Caitlin |date=26 September 2023 |title=Netflix, Max, Disney and More Form Streaming Industry Trade Alliance |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/netflix-max-disney-and-more-form-streaming-industry-trade-alliance-1235600700/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926171324/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/netflix-max-disney-and-more-form-streaming-industry-trade-alliance-1235600700/ |archive-date=26 September 2023 |access-date=26 September 2023 |magazine=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=Wes |date=26 September 2023 |title=Streaming giants have banded together for lobbying power |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/26/23890778/streaming-companies-trade-group-sia-regulation-net-neutrality |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926171450/https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/26/23890778/streaming-companies-trade-group-sia-regulation-net-neutrality |archive-date=26 September 2023 |access-date=26 September 2023 |website=[[The Verge]]}}</ref>