How the Entertainment Industry Is Shifting in 2020

To say the least, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended various aspects of life in 2020. The entertainment industry has been hit hard. Like other types of businesses, this industry is trying to adapt to avoid even more significant losses. Movie theaters and other entertainment venues have been closed for months; consumers have been seeking ways to limit boredom for themselves and their family in quarantine. Here are several ways that the entertainment industry is shifting to meet the changing circumstance.

Streaming Video on Demand

Launched in 2015, CuriosityStream is a media and entertainment company. It offers factual content in documentaries, TV shows and short-form videos, both original content and otherwise. On-demand content categories include science, nature, technology, mathematics, robotics and history. CuriosityStream offers month-to-month and annual subscriptions, as well as a 4K plan. Run by President and CEO, Clint Stinchcomb since 2018, CuriosityStream has had over 10.5 million subscribers and continues to grow worldwide.

Over-the-Top Streaming Media Service

Cable and satellite services have been waning in popularity since the availability of streaming video. Unlike broadcast television platforms, OTT is a streaming service that's offered directly via the internet. They're typically accessed on websites via PCs, smartphone apps, digital media players (e.g., Roku or Apple TV), video game consoles (Playstation 4 or Xbox One) or smart TV platforms. OTT includes "skinny" television services similar to cable or satellite television. However, it's streamed over the internet rather than with equipment such as a set-top box. Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Quibi and Disney+ are just a few popular selections. Quibi is one of the newest OTT services, focused more on short video optimized for mobile viewing.

Since many cinemas have had to shut their doors during the pandemic, movie companies have taken the opportunity to release the movies straight to on-demand for rent or purchase. Although still taking a big hit financially, it's been a means of keeping the media companies afloat.

Social Media Video

Social media video has become increasingly popular over the last few years. YouTube, an online video-sharing platform founded in 2005, has been on top of this game for ages. It's now a subsidiary of Google. Individuals upload most of YouTube's content. However, several media corporations (e.g., Hulu and CBS) display some of their content on YouTube as part of YouTube's partnership program. You can find a wide variety of content on YouTube, including music videos, movie trailers, educational videos and live streams.

Since 2017, Facebook has been trying to compete with YouTube via their Facebook Watch video-on-demand service. They offer original programming and video content from other companies (e.g., 20th Century Fox Television).

TikTok, a video-sharing social network, has become wildly popular since it became available worldwide in 2018. Individuals create short videos of 3 to 15 seconds, or looping videos of 3 to 60 seconds. Dance, lip-sync, talent and comedy videos are mainly what you'll find on TikTok.

Houseparty is a social network based on live video chat. It has enjoyed success in 2020, and for a good reason. Life in quarantine is an excellent opportunity to experiment with the newest tech trends with your friends.

Podcasts

Podcasts are growing in popularity with over 850,000 active podcasts. Approximately 103 million people, in the U.S. alone, listen to podcasts at least once a month. One especially famous podcast network is Wondery, which has various series, some even based on popular TV shows. New amateur podcasts are also appearing every day. It's something that people who didn't have the time to listen to or create before the pandemic have the time for now. Creators may have even made a career change; quite an accomplishment for hobbyists.

To manage the anxiety and boredom that come with lockdowns, people need to find ways to relax. Some also need an alternative means of generating income while out of work to compensate for lost wages from their day job. In the meantime, these services have been developed to alleviate some of this stress; they don't completely fill the added downtime, but they certainly help.