“netflix” (CC BY 2.0) by stockcatalog

For a long time in the different forms of media, there have been strict lines drawn between what is available where. Nowhere is this more evident than with television and film, though it has also been seen in the worlds of online casino and video gaming. In recent years, these industries have begun to buck their technologically conservative trends, increasingly opening themselves to offer much more varied avenues of access. How did we get here? Could this route become the standard in the future?

In Television and Film

Just a few short decades ago, television was confined to broadcast or cable networks, and films were largely under the purview of cinema, DVD, or low budget straight to TV releases. With the arrival and rapid expansion of high-speed internet connections, these former limitations were shattered and streaming became viable. Most popularly illustrated by Netflix, newer systems fundamentally reshaped decades of accepted practices in just a few years.

Today, one single streaming service can be home to on-demand high-budget television and movies from the biggest names in the business. The movie The Irishman is a contemporary example of this, coming straight to streaming from what forbes.com reports is a budget of $160 million. The Mandalorian on Disney’s service is a similarly high-budget entry on the television side of the equation, costing around $100 million for the first season alone.

Tying into this is not just the fact that titles like these are available on streaming services, it also plays into how widely available the streaming services themselves are. An enormous range of modern digital devices have access to these systems, from the standard of modern smart TVs to PCs, tablets, and mobile phones. In terms of both content and availability, the bar continues to be raised.

Relating to Video and Casino Games

In video games, re-releases and multiplatform experiences are nothing new. Despite this reality, traditional gaming multiplatform titles have often been held back by disconnects and differences between the different gaming systems. Only recently, with a greater embracing of cross-platform play, have these boundaries begun to lift. In the modern gaming environment, some games like PUBG offer nearly identical experiences over mobile, PC, and consoles, marking what many hope is a new trend.

In some ways, the changes which are now being seen in television and film are more relatable to the state of the casino gaming world. For example. ever since the advent of smartphones, the casinos listed on sites like betpal.com have made concerted efforts to offer their titles on as broad a range of devices as possible. Naturally, regardless of what industry you operate in, it is always important to allow your business to be accessible to as many customers as possible.

This doesn’t just apply to casino games either, as work has also been done to ensure bonuses like free spins and deposit matches are possible over every conceivable system. While indirect, it is possible this industry’s success acted as encouragement for the expansion of video streaming services. Companies need to decide what platforms they should make their products accessible on, and remove any obstacles that may prevent people from accessing it.

Moving Ahead

With the success of streaming systems and the shows they carry, it’s practically guaranteed that a positive feedback loop will occur. More quality shows mean more interest, and more higher-level interest means better shows will result. The only real questions here relate to how far these systems could grow, and what this could mean for traditional means of video entertainment.

We’d never expect traditional cinema and television experiences to disappear completely, but an increasingly online world might necessitate evolution if they wish to keep pace. As techradar.com mentions, some systems like HBO have already begun to make this leap into the new digital world. Whether or not this will become standard, and what final form the greater industry will take, however, remains to be seen.