Never Cross the Streams

Clear winner for SCHS’s most popular streaming service, denoting mainstream media battle for popularity

by Alija Ernst, Content Manager

With the advancement of technology, television has become a thing of the past with the new ways people can watch the shows they like, usually with a monthly subscription attached. However, if television was completely nonexistent, which streaming service would reign supreme? Luckily, we have the internet, which gives humans the ability to look up anything their hearts desire, this being a platform that millions of people can access. Companies like  Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll were created to allow people to view shows and movies without having commercials, so no more missing shows and movies on live television. However, companies like Apple TV, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and YouTube TV were companies that owned products, movies, and music, then they suddenly started making shows and movies that were available to people that paid to have access to their content. These attempts to succeed as much as other companies like Netflix and Hulu end up working or companies try to keep up with trends, however, end up going bankrupt. 

These companies are beginning to have higher demand for more things from different movies to different genres; they have to do all this while juggling the legal system with copyright laws, etc. However, at the end of the day, Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, and all the rest are getting paid massive amounts of money that could be put towards more choices for movies and television programs, in terms of availability. Therefore, if companies were to gain more viewers to match Netflix’s numbers, then the other companies would be able to assimilate with Netflix’s success, becoming a major competitor, which is essentially what other companies are doing- they are trying to get popular by introducing concepts and programs similar to Netflix. However, if these other companies were to be the opposite of Netflix, and for example, obtain the rights for all the classical movies that people watch throughout the years instead of churning out original content, this would be not only more charitable to the viewer, but be a wise business practice overall. 

Above all, if companies were to become antithetical to Netflix, in terms of programming, they would become more popular in exchange for having to battle the companies that would then try to copy them- an endless cycle of legal battles and greedy corporations living up to their names. However, though it would benefit the users of the apps and sites if there was to have a wider section of genres of different media from movies to games, until that day arrives, Netflix holds the crown for being the top streaming service, at least for St. Charles High.