The aftereffects of the Coronavirus pandemic are still affecting our daily lives significantly. We have to abide by different restrictions like self isolation, social distancing, and others appropriately.
Therefore, we have to rely on different streaming services like Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video, etc., to make our leisure time meaningful and memorable. There are more than 200+ streaming services available worldwide that help their millions of subscribers fulfill their media cravings accordingly.
The story does not end here because streaming has become a new black in 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis. For instance, there are 25+ video on demand services accessible in a smaller country like New Zealand alone as revealed by howtowatch.co.nz, a dedicated website that focuses on numerous local kiwi and foreign streaming services in detail.
This way, New Zealanders can watch all their favorite TV shows, movies, and other content on a variety of devices anytime without any hassle. The same goes for Australian users since they can subscribe to their favorite streaming service from 15+ video on demand options straightaway.
It means, the whole world is streaming online more than ever before. As a result, ISPs, mobile data companies, and other stakeholders face huge problems when fulfilling their subscribers’ demands regarding internet usage and bandwidth consumption.
Read this post to know how users’ online streaming activities are hampering the performance of ISPs and mobile data companies globally.
Subscription base of different streaming services is expected to increase in 2021
There is a strong likelihood that the subscriber base of streaming services will continue to rise in 2021. For instance, more than 3.45 million users are enjoying Netflix subscriptions in Australia. Therefore, we can expect Netflix’s existing subscriber base will be increased in Australia and other countries significantly. Similarly, 2.1 million Australian users have subscribed to Amazon Prime Video.
Considering the importance of streaming, BBC will launch its exclusive subscription streaming channel by the name of BBC Select in the US. Furthermore, another media giant Discovery has decided to launch its exclusive online video-on-demand service Discovery Plus in January 2021.
The above situation highlights that the role of ISPs and mobile data companies will again come in handy in near future. However, they will face different problems in the shape of limited IT infrastructure, and others because online streaming will improve drastically in 2021.
Live streaming option is adversely affecting the internet
Different streaming services like Hulu, YouTube TV, FuboTV, etc. offer live streaming features to their users. Moreover, the coronavirus pandemic has compelled users to spend their quality time with their loved ones.
In this situation, they are bound to rely on different streaming services of their choice that help them watch their favorite shows or movies timely. But, media consumption habits of users are creating negative impacts on the performance of ISPs worldwide.
Similarly, different events, including musical concerts, sports tournaments, and award shows, have been broadcasted live due to the coronavirus crisis in 2020. Therefore, viewers from all over the world opted for numerous online streaming services to catch all the action live on their screens.
This was one of the major reasons ISPs found themselves in a tricky situation, which they had never faced before. They were unable to fulfill their users’ streaming requirements at times.
Streaming services reduced their streaming quality
Compared to video streaming platforms, music streaming services such as Apple Music, Spotify etc.take less bandwidth and do not influence the speed and quality of internet connections much. Sadly, this is not the case with video on demand services like Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, etc.
ISPs in different countries asked Netflix to reduce its streaming quality. Otherwise, they will not be able to cope with the streaming demands of their subscribers. Other video on demand services like YouTube and Amazon Prime Video decreased their video streaming quality accordingly.
Final Words
The COVID-19 crisis has already transformed our media consumption activities a great deal. However, all good things have some downsides, and online streaming is no exception at all. When people stayed at their homes during the first phase of the coronavirus pandemic, online streaming increased by 12%.
Consequently, internet connectivity, video buffering, freezing, and other issues also increased drastically at the same time. Therefore, ISPs and mobile data services were compelled to up their game considerably.
Unfortunately, this trend will not stop because more services will become a part of the ongoing steaming competition in the coming years. Furthermore, the subscription base of various streaming services will also increase. Moreover, it will keep hindering the speed and quality of internet connections worldwide.
As online streaming will increase over time on a massive scale globally, ISPs alongside mobile data companies have to improve their performance on a front like basic infrastructure that will help them avoid potential disaster in the future.
