The current situation includes a
massive amount of entertainment companies introducing online features, apps and
catch up television due to the changing media industry which is gradually
pushing live T.V. out. Netflix, an online streaming website is currently the
leader of the pack, have profited from this change in the market as they offer
hundreds of films, T.V. programmes and have even created their own to attract
an even bigger audience with exclusive content. Websites such as Netflix base
their company on the users control over what they watch and when they watch it.
Social media has also grown dramatically and it has become an essential to have
an account of websites such as Facebook or Twitter on which again, the user can
choose who to follow or what to watch giving them a never ending stream of the
things that they are interested in. This idea of having everything you want on
demand has correlation the growth in the amount of smart phones, tablets, iPads
etc as they have allowed the user to have everything they want to hear, watch
or look at, on one device. This as a whole is pushing things such as Cinema,
magazines, newspapers and TV out of the window because to a consumer they are
all more; expensive, time consuming and are becoming old fashioned. In my
opinion this is for the better as it makes it a lot easier for me to access my
favourite TV show or watch my favourite film over and over again as it’s
permanently in one place and it doesn’t cost me a penny more to watch it again,
compare to a cinema for example, it costs around £10 for a ticket and you must
also travel, on a streaming website all I need to do is open it up and select
what I want to watch. However some people may prefer the experience and enjoy
making a night out of a film premiere, I personally prefer to watch the biggest
and most anticipated films on a big screen in a cinema on occasions. In terms
of magazines and newspapers, I believe they will eventually come close to
extinction as news and articles can now be found online and are again, quicker
and cheaper. In the future I see only a few newspapers and magazines being
published, also I see TV will slowly become less popular but not disappear due
to the sheer size of its worth. Finally I see streaming websites and devices
such as a Chromecast becoming more and more popular and eventually leading the
entertainment market.
There are some really good points here Joe and you have considered a range range of factors in constructing your answer. You are absolutely right that digital media is changing the way consumption takes place, and that it is having a massive effect on the traditional media forms. However, in the case of cinema, you are right to acknowledge that a visit to the cinema is not just about seeing a film, it's about seeing it on the big screen with the state of the art sound facilities. You may also have expanded this to include the social aspects of a cinema visit such as meeting friends, going for a meal etc.
ReplyDeleteWhat you haven't really emphasised enough is the flexibility that digital media now offers with catch up services, pay per view etc and how this is important in the modern world where people lives seem to be faster and fuller.It has completely revolutionised consumption of media and made more choice available than ever before.
Grade C