TV Wasteland

After binging 13 seasons of “Criminal Minds” in three weeks and starting a new series on Hulu, I stopped to take a moment to realize the accessibility of shows just like “Criminal Minds”- there are no ads (with the pricier Hulu plan) and the episodes come one after the next like a purchase line at a grocery store. 

According to the LA Times, “The average person is streaming eight hours of content each day, double the number of hours from before the pandemic rapidly spread in the U.S., according to data collected from surveys conducted by market research firm OnePoll for streaming service Tubi”. 75% of people are using more streaming services during social distancing than ever before.

Streaming services during this time are thriving. Due to the COVID-19 social distancing, certain services are extending their free trial lengths from 7 days to 30. For Apple, if you buy an Apple product, you could get a year of Apple TV. 

Netflix has been doing very well in the stock market industry. Compared to other companies who are struggling during this time, Netflix has increased in the stock market. Furthermore, Netflix has been connecting people through an unaffiliated Google Chrome extension called Netflix Party where people can watch the same thing at the same time but on different screens. 

As for original content, it has been very difficult to create new content, so services such as Disney+ are releasing older movies and shows from “the vault” onto their streaming service for viewers to enjoy the nostalgia. Netflix, however, has been pumping out original content almost weekly, such as “Never Have I Ever” written by Mindy Kaling (click here to see our interview with the lead of the show Maitreyi Ramakrishnan). However, since production has been postponed due to the pandemic, people are wondering what Netflix will do once their original content bank runs out. Because of this, Jenji Kohan and Netflix are teaming up to produce and film a show virtually. Click here for more information.

There has also been a lot of new streaming services launched to keep people busy during this quarantine, such as HBO Max, Quibi, or Peacock with their own original content coming to their respective services. HBO Max will launch original shows like “Love Life” starring Anna Kendrick and more.

Thanks to the pandemic, the future of streaming is looking up.