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2021 was the year that streaming pushed our cultural buttons

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Pankaj Rawat
2021 was the year that streaming pushed our cultural buttons

It's no surprise that 2020 has been a bumper year for streaming. With people stuck at home last year, the service gained millions of new customers – Netflix amassed 16 million customers in just three months. The first part of 2021 continues this trend, but as the years approach, it appears that growth rates across the board are slowing. This suggests that as restrictions are eased around the world, people can return to pre-pandemic norms. 

 

But overall, 2021 is still an important year for streaming. Netflix currently has 214 million customers worldwide, and services like Disney+ and HBO max are attracting customers with exclusive TV shows and movies. U.S. platforms, such as Peacock, are expanding internationally, and the online program has only performed well in a handful of award shows. Exclusive streaming titles, such as squid fishing and wandaavision, are part of the cultural scene. A slow year or not, that's clearly how most of us watch our shows now. Here are some of this year's biggest streaming stories. As mentioned above, Netflix is ​​the undeniably leader in the streaming space with over 214 million customers worldwide. Sure, it faces challenges from rivals like Disney+ and Amazon Prime, but Netflix is ​​holding its ground. Part of that is due to the company's strategy of investing in original content that you can't find elsewhere, such as Alien Material and Crown. 


And of course, there's a game of ink that is arguably this year's number one TV show. Netflix says about 142 million households have watched Korean shows, making them the most watched new shows in Netflix history. There's also a recently posted red announcement, which became the service's most watched movie in its first 28 days, with about 328.8 million hours watched during that time. This supports the previous record held by Bird Box, which again had 282 million watch hours in 2018. 

 

Things don't seem to be slowing down. Netflix has signed multi-year deals with big names like Kevin Hart and Steven Spielberg, owns exclusive rights to Universal's animated films, and is buying the rights to the entire Roald Dahl Dahl catalog. This phenomenon 

 

However, 2021 is not without obstacles. The biggest so far was when Netflix employees protested the comments of the CEO, who defended Special Holder Dave Chappelle, who has been heavily criticized for sublime content. CEO Ed Sarandos said he "messed up" the message, but did not retract his plea. 

 

On the other hand, Disney+ currently has 118.1 million paying customers worldwide, which is not enough compared to Netflix. But the service has grown again in 2021, with about 43 million more customers than last year. Many can be associated with Disney Powerhouse franchises like Pixar, Star Wars, and especially in 2021, Marvel. 2021 is when the Marvel Cinematic Universe releases four different TV shows, all exclusive to Disney+: Wandaavision, Falcon and Winter Soldier, Loki, and Hawkeye. That's a big deal, as Marvel has said that the TV series is key to the MCU's "phase four" chapter, suggesting that fans will likely want to watch them to understand the context of the next film. follow in the coming universe.  

 

But there are many shows that make them a must-see. As the first out of the gate, Wandaavision set the tone. This episode is watched weekly, as each episode stimulates so-called "water-cooled" discussions in person and online. It sounds like an "anti-binging" TV show, because a lot of the appeal of this show is predicting what will happen next. If nothing else, it suggests that Disney+'s pool of original content — which includes the book by Mandalorian and Boba Fett — can hold its own with an older background.

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Pankaj Rawat
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