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One of the biggest Christmas tradition involves sitting down in front of the TV, be it for the Queen’s Speech, the soaps, Downton Abbey or Doctor Who.
But Christmas 2015 – and indeed from now on – things will play out a little differently thanks to software and hardware that empowers you to do one thing – stream.
It already dominates how we listen to our music, with the likes of Spotify, Deezer and Apple Music offering millions of tracks at our fingertips. But now it’s spread to TV too, with Netflix and Amazon leading the way – though the traditional broadcasters are getting involved too.
TV streaming has been on the rise for some time – with stats from the end of 2014 showing a 17% increase in watching television on laptops and mobile devices, a figure that will more than likely continue to rise. As internet-enabled TVs, catch-up services and streaming boxes become ever-more common in our lives, the act of actually sitting down and watching something “live” is playing second fiddle to binge-watching on weekends or streaming on your device during the commute.
A large part of this trend is driven by the popularity and increasing power of services such as Netflix – now a fully-fledged studio, making original programmes as well as just being a medium for them. Amazon is also having great success with this, having won Emmys for their own-produced Transparent.
But hardware is a big factor too, with the Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick arguably two of the biggest disruptors to the television market since Sky came along. The plug-in boxes naturally offer Amazon Prime, but you can also get Netflix, BBC iPlayer and other streaming services through it.
The Fire TV Stick retails for less than £40 too, making it extremely enticing to those without a satellite package or smart TV.
Such has been Amazon’s success in this area in the last year that Apple too has re-entered the fray by revamping their Apple TV. Now the App Store is built into it – which means a whole host of media options for film and TV, but also games. BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub are working their way onto these platforms too, but that’s only one aspect their own embracing of streaming.
BBC iPlayer has been made steadily more streamer-friendly in recent times, with offline downloads and the extension of time new shows spend on the service. There’s a greater range of personalisation options on offer now too.
And in the last month ITV Player has been rebranded as ITV Hub, now resembling more of a full media streaming platform as opposed to just a catch-up site. TV box sets are on offer too, and there’s been an entire redesign of the website.
While the media brands are doing their bit to look the part and provide the service that consumers are not demanding, the state of the technology world as a whole is playing a big part in the streaming revolution.
Smartphones are getting smarter, more powerful and more connected – along with every other type of device. The screens are getting better and in many cases bigger too, turning more devices than ever – from our phones to our laptops – into TVs.
So come Christmas Day, don’t be too surprised if you find your family catching-up on the Queen’s Speech via YouTube or iPlayer on a tablet because you were streaming Christmas movies on the TV and missed it live.
