Will Streaming Kill the Video Star?

Streaming seems to be everywhere. It is easy to watch or listen to almost anything online today, and whilst films have up until now been the biggest market in streaming, television is very quickly following suit. Whilst it is already possible to see a wide range of television material online (both legally and illegally), things have just shifted up a gear with some of the biggest names in legally streamed content stating that they are they looking to stream a far wider range of television content.

On top of this, many names on both sides of the Atlantic are looking in to the possibility of actually producing and commissioning their own televised material, and before long it could be a case that almost all of our home entertainment comes to us direct over the internet as opposed to via digital television sets.

Many people already use video capture hardware to capture film and television and then to stream over the net. Whilst this can be done legally with licences it can also be easy for people to use capture cards to stream almost any content which they can view regardless of the licence. And since so many people already use video capture hardware, will this shift really make any difference?

The revenue that companies can raise by streaming television shows and film using capture cards is vast with such things being a perfect tool to add banners and other viral marketing advertising to. With more and more companies latching onto the idea, the sheer breadth of content available online is growing more and more and with the bigger players in the industry looking to create their own television content, online will soon almost certainly be the best place to watch any show you want.

Will it kill the television star though? Well, the chances are those stars will be alive and well (just so long as reality TV doesn’t kill acting altogether), but we will just find them in a whole different place.