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A Short History of Video Distribution
A plain timeline of how moving pictures reached viewers, from over-the-air broadcasts and tape to broadband, streaming apps and the devices that now carry them.
Business and Industry Change
How video moved from broadcast to streaming and where it heads.
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A plain timeline of how moving pictures reached viewers, from over-the-air broadcasts and tape to broadband, streaming apps and the devices that now carry them.
What it means when households cancel cable or satellite, why people do it, what typically replaces it, and the trade-offs in cost, live content and convenience.
How theatrical windows work, why studios and cinemas negotiate them, and how streaming premieres, shortened gaps and day-and-date releases change the picture.
How scheduled channels, prime time and ratings gave way to on-demand viewing, and which parts of broadcast television have carried over into streaming.
How YouTube lowered the barrier to publishing, helped create new genres and creator careers, and shifted viewing habits, with its trade-offs and limits.
How VHS, DVD and Blu-ray took turns as the main way to watch films at home, why format battles happened, and what their decline taught the industry.
Why catalogs ended up split across many streaming services, what the competition means for viewers' costs and choices, and the practical ways people respond.
How mobile data, low-cost smartphones, local languages and payment habits shape the way people watch and make video outside wealthy markets, and what varies.
A grounded look at plausible directions for online video, from AI tools and connected TVs to bundling and codecs, and what remains uncertain about each of them.
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