The way we consume content is shifting. — AFP Relaxnews
This week Google introduced its video game-streaming service to the world; the Alphabet subsidiary is just one of the top Fortune 500 tech and media companies turning towards cloud computing to stream their products and services.
On March 19, Google announced Stadia, and while it's not the first company to develop a cloud-based video game streaming service, it certainly is going to be one of the most flexible services combining playing, watching, and developing games all in one PC, tablet, and smartphone-friendly online service.
Google may just be the first of the Big Tech firms to open the door this year to new streaming services, although it may be the only major company to debut a new game-oriented platform. Companies like Apple, Disney, and even AT&T are following in the successful footsteps of Netflix, and sooner rather than later, their own respective streaming services will be hitting the consumer market.
On March 25, Apple is hosting a special event in Cupertino, California, which is highly expected to mark the launch of the company's TV subscription service. Like Netflix, Apple has designated a hefty budget for creating company-branded original content; over a dozen are in the works or have been completed already with high-profile celebrities at the forefront like Jennifer Aniston, Hailee Steinfeld, and Chris Evans.
Disney Plus will compete with the likes of Netflix and Apple with their own streaming service that is expected to contain each and every movie in the Disney library which now includes the growing Star Wars collection, Marvel movies, Pixel films. The service will cause the Disney "vault" to vanish as well as some Disney-owned movies and series on other competing streaming services. This kind of limited exclusivity will force users to subscribe to separate services for Disney and non-Disney content.
AT&T, too, is apparently jumping on the TV and movie streaming service bandwagon with its Hulu-like, presently unnamed services that's expected to roll out by the end of the year with HBO and Turner content. Netflix's second most-watched show, Friends will be making its way to the AT&T's WarnerMedia platform stirring up some serious competition between the two.
As streaming is gaining traction across all forms of media, the way in which we consume entertainment is shifting on a large scale. Netflix could lose its position as king of TV and movie streaming services as some of the biggest international companies more directly join the competition.
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