If anyone is paying attention to that is going on within the television landscape, the method of getting one’s programming through a streaming service is gaining traction more than ever, and the stats behind this fact prove it all!
According to the All Screen Streaming TV Census Report, as issued by the video intelligence platform Conviva, the number of hours of viewed content of programming provided by internet based media grew by 114% to some 4.8 billion subscribers in the first three months of this year as compared by the same period in 2017.
As to what device was used to view streaming media, also known as “over the top” media (OTT), a bit more than have (54%) was based on using a set-top streaming device (Apple TV, Ruku, Playstation console, etc.). And with the totality of actual video plays, mobile devices were mostly used at 42%, followed by the OTT devices with 35%, and computers (desktop/laptop) at 23%.
Although viewers start to watch more content through their mobile devices, these same viewers remain connected far longer through a dedicated TV unit. And among those same connected TV devices, Apple TV usage increased some 709%. Amazon Fire TV devices also increased by 411% from 2017.
It’s rather obvious that streaming television a.k.a. over the top television a.k.a. OTT, has been the latest rage in viewing video based media since the rise of cable TV in the 1980’s. Out of the many sources that provide such media, Netflix is perhaps the biggest player of them all. Although their offerings started out by providing theatrical movies through DVD rentals via mail order, this company expanded way beyond this method of delivery by not only offering a massive library of feature films, but by providing original TV series akin to what could be seen via cable or over the air, as well as original movies that bypassed a theatrical run.
And believe it our not, Netflix still offers their DVD rental services delivered through the mail for those that still hold the desire to see their video content without the use of streaming.
This form of television–and this writer will use the terms “television” and “TV” to describe how this content can be viewed since any electronic device that has a screen affixed to it mimics a traditional TV even though it may be an electronic pad, a desktop/laptop computer, or a smartphone–is becoming the preferred way to absorb media. Perhaps the reason to this method of getting media this way is the fact that one can watch what they want when they want it. If somebody wants to view an episode of, let’s say, House of Cards while stuck at an airport terminal at 2:00 AM, they can! If one heard about a new series that “everyone” is talking about, one doesn’t have to wait on a Thursday evening at 9:00 PM to catch an episode. They can log on (again, assuming that the viewer is a legit subscriber to the service in question), and watch away. Unlike programming a digital video recorder, or even a video cassette recorder from a generation before, one can view the program(s) on a whim, rather than to get around to set a DTR/VCR to record a specific channel on a specific day and time. The real leader here is the on-demand element to TV enjoyment.
Of course, the traditional cable outlets and the four TV networks are getting into the streaming game by offering the content they control via stream. So in passing, no matter what one wants to see, there it is just as long as the device is connected to an internet traveled line!
It will only be a few short years on how streaming will fit into the TV viewing landscape. It may take a little time, but not a real long time. It’s not the first period that the arrivial of TV became a threat to other existing media. Although movies shown in a theatre was the first sense of threat, movies and the theaters that run them still exist to this very day. And the box office numbers are proof that folks will still drag themselves to a movie house, plunk down the admission cost, and view a feature in a large darkened room full of strangers that laugh, cry, scream, yell, and do whatever one does going along with the action to what is seen on the big screen. The four broadcast networks still run programming over the air on selected days and times as they have for decades! (For ABC, CBS, and NBC, this trio has been at it for some seventy years!!)
So unless it’s no longer in existence, or in existence as it was once known, any form of media isn’t “dead”! Perhaps the only types of media programming that can be classified as dead is radio drama. Yes, it’s still presented from time to time, but only presented as a novelty rather than a regular method of delivery. But outside of this, movies shown within a theatre, TV content seen on a traditional set device, and the use of a TV antenna to get this type of media is well alive and living.
So no matter how one spends their time with TV, it’s going to be worth while! As to the actual entertainment quality of programming is a whole other matter!
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NEWS AND REVIEWS
The 6th Act presents AN EVENING OF BETRAYAL, consisting of a pair of single-act plays that deal with the title subject on hand, is performing at Theatre 68 in North Hollywood.
The first play is Harold Pinter’s Betrayal that tells the story of an affair between Emma (Liza Seneca) and Jerry (Adam J. Smith). The sense opens with a meeting of the two at a pub shortly after Emma’s spouse Robert (William DeMeritt) left her. Then the storyline shifts backwards a few years that illustrates how this affair developed as these three were once mutual acquaintances. It concludes a few more years before showing off how this trio developed as friends, business associates, and eventually as lovers.
The second act is William’s Shakespeare’s Othello. This time, it storyline concentrates among its four leads: Lago (Adam J. Smith), Desdemona (Liza Seneca) Cassio (Luke McClure), and the title character Othello (William DeMeritt). Its method is also in the same fashion as Betrayal, opening with its final scene, then progressing backwards with the focus on how these four battled through the sense of methods of treachery and falseness, with death added to the aspects of the double-dealings at stake.
What makes this production rather interesting is the fact that these two plays, written hundreds of years apart, deals within the same subject matter as the pair also contains rich dialogue and the fact that the two playwrights were of British decent! The cast of four performers are double billed in both productions, adapting their roles between the 20th century and the 16th. Every one of these players showcase their talents very well, especially with their parts playing the roles The Bard created! Liza Seneca, who appears as Emma in the former program and Desdemona in the latter, adapted the one-act version of Othello that still holds that fierce drama and conflict that has been thrilling audiences for centuries.
With such one-act plays, the production values seen on stage are basic yet tight. Gary Lee Reeds provides the scenic design, while Lena Sands provides the costuming that really proves itself during the Shakespeare portion of the program. Adding Chu-hsuan Chang’s lighting and Nick Neidorf’s sound design, one has a duo of plays that takes on the elements of deception to its final conclusions.
Directed by Elizabeth Swain, AN EVENING OF BETRAYAL presents itself proving that the act of betrayal never goes out of style as it still continues in the present day. Thus, the momentum continues!
AN EVENING OF BETRAYAL, presented by The 6th Act, and performs at Theatre 68, 5112 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood, until June 24th. Showtimes are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 8:00 PM, and Sunday afternoons at 2:00 PM. For ticket reservations, visit http://www.BrownPaperTickets.com/event/3415884
Visit The 6th Act’s website at http://www.The6thAct.com
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