Streaming Services: How And Why Have They Kept Growing In Popularity? 

Chances are, if you’re an internet user in 2023, you use or subscribe to one or more streaming services. These platforms − including the likes of YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon Prime − have seen stratospheric growth over the last decade. And they’ve completely changed how we find and consume media. In this article, we look at how and why streaming continues to take an ever-increasing slice of the pie. 

How big has streaming become? 

According to Grand View Research, PwC, and Statista statistics gathered by Business of Apps, the global streaming market grew from $42.4 billion to $84.3 billion between 2018 and 2022. This represents a significant increase of 70.3%.  

It’s then predicted that the market will grow again in the next four years to $115 billion – or by 36.4%.  

This is still a remarkable increase and speaks to the fact that streaming, up until now, has mainly focused on the youthful end of the spectrum. Office for National Statistics data reported by the Guardian in August 2022 stated that 16-to-24-year-olds spend seven times less time watching traditional broadcast television than those 65 and over. This has led providers like Netflix to focus advertising efforts on the over-55s as the younger market becomes saturated. 

Why has streaming grown in popularity? 

There are plenty of reasons why streaming has grown in popularity and why it’s likely to stay popular into the future. 

First, networking. As internet speeds have increased, more people have become able to stream high-definition content. Fibre broadband has taken this further, allowing multiple devices to stream at once. With this, platforms have been able to take over whole households. 

Next, security. The availability of virtual private networks (VPNs) has won over users who might have eschewed viewing over the internet. Using a VPN with Roku or with any other streaming service can also let you access streaming libraries available in other countries. This simply isn’t an option for non-VPN users. 

The sheer variety of available streaming services is also boosting their popularity. While the likes of YouTube and Netflix dominated the early market, today, there are countless from which to choose. Options include Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Hulu, and more. It means that to access all their favourite shows, users are increasingly signing up to more than one platform. 

Will streaming platforms continue to rise in popularity? It’s likely that they will, especially as internet connections improve and more media businesses enter the market. Do you stream video content? Do you find that your viewing habits have changed over the past decade or so? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.