The world of cinema and television has completely changed with the introduction of digital media platforms. We originally had the concept of ondemand TV as a catch-up guide for television and for film we had rental companies like Blockbuster (1985-2010)  and Love Film (2002) which was eventually bought by Amazon in 2010. 

In the early 2010s we saw the rise of television with series such as Game of Thrones (2011) by production company HBO and The Walking Dead (2010) by AMC Studios. These series in my opinion kickstarted the resurgence of television and with its mass popularity led to more production companies move into television productions. 

Digital media platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ have transformed the way cinema and Television are consumed, these platforms have resulted  in the decline of DVD and Blu-Ray, as a monthly subscription unlocks a plethora of films and television series from every genre available, which can obviously seen as a more positive effect for the industry moving forward. 

These platforms have had great success amongst audiences with the library they provide, which is constantly updated. They also use the ‘cookies’ algorithm to recommend series and films similar to your taste from your most watched/enjoyed genres, directors or even actors, which can be greatly advantageous for the audience.

However, these platforms have also created quite a negative culture when it comes to viewership. The expansive libraries these platforms provide has resulted in this idea of partial viewing, where we people can easily click on and off of content once they’re bored or not in the mood to continue watching and quickly move onto something else. It has also created the culture of binge watching, a way in which the audience will watch between 2-6 episodes in a row as it is available at an instance with these platforms, whereas previously you had to wait a week for the next episode.

In the text Understanding the Phenomenon of Binge-Watching—A Systematic Review”, Starosta, Jolanta A, we have the quote “This highly immersive behaviour provides immediate gratification, and thus it may lead to the loss of self-control and spending much more time on watching TV series than the person originally wanted [19,21,22].” Starosta highlights the negative side of these platforms and the content they release. However, you can put this down to social media influence today with high pressure and the fear of missing out or the risk of spoilers down to the new culture of binge watching.  

Flynn Shields  33574788