Aaliyah Bass-Davis
MC301 Contributor
Online streaming is rapidly becoming more popular than television and is threatening the existence of cable.
Over the past couple of years, online streaming has had the highest percentage of viewers that watch television. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2017, study show that 61 percent of people who watch television mainly watch it through online streaming services.
Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, YouTube, and other services are becoming more favored by the year and turning many away from purchasing and watching regular TV cable.
The competition is due to two major pros along with others of course. The major reasons are cost and content. These two factors along are drawing many away from cable and pulling many to watching online streaming.
Cost is a major factor in the choice of online streaming versus cable. Cable prices have increased over the years, while subscriptions to online streaming services are most of the time a set, cheap price. For $10 a month, a person can watch Netflix all day every day.
“I actually love online streaming, its way cheaper and now the go-to thing especially with college students,” said Ieishia Lacey, a junior criminal justice major.
James Hall is also a fan of online streaming.
“Streaming is my favorite because I can afford $10 a month in comparison to a big cable bill,” said Hall, a senior engineering major from Atlanta, Ga.
Content is another major factor. With cable, there is no personal choice in what is aired at the time. Viewers must either wait until a particular time, or watch their favorite show or movie another day. Online streaming gives viewer the ultimate control to watch what they want, when they want.
General Manager of JSUTV, Rob Jay, stated that, “Online streaming offers more programs…and although television may not become fully obsolete it is definitely competitive.”
The school’s cable channel, along with other channels or stations is constantly competing with online services that air. This is obviously both challenging and threatening the channel and others to do more and basically compete in which they have no other choice.
With the huge variety of movies and shows that online streaming offers, it is now even encouraged to get and watch between friends, co-workers, and even students. Most of the conversations regarding television now are “what shows are you binge watching?”
Nadia Bodie-Smith, professor and coordinator of theatre studies at Jackson State University, even encourages her students to binge watch British shows on Netflix to practice accents.
The amount of content is beneficial to viewers at their own discretion and selection. Other conversations are “What’s a good Netflix movie?” “Did you subscribe to that YouTube channel?” It is apparently amongst what is popular.
Another pro that online streaming has over cable television is that online streaming can be watched anywhere with any device that has Internet or Wi-Fi. Many people enjoy online streaming because they can watch it while on the go on their cell phones, tablets, laptops, iPods, and more.
“I watch my favorite shows with my cell phone, tablet, and laptop all the time, it is so convenient,” said Chess Walker a senior business major from Greenville, Miss.
At the touch of a button, you can watch your favorites instead of waiting to get home or to get to a television with cable that has the accurate channel.
Not only teens and adults enjoy online streaming, but also young children even enjoy many shows on YouTube. Many studies have shown that children watch more YouTube than television. It is apparent that every age is getting their fair share of online streaming.
The question still remains, with online streaming becoming more popular and many people switching over from cable, could cable really become obsolete in the near future?
