Streaming media is a form of multimedia, usually video or audio, from a data streaming service to an end user, that delivers media as a serial, steady stream, with little or no intermediate storage.
When an image, video, or program is downloaded to a device from the Internet, it is usually necessary for the end user to wait until that file is completely downloaded and processed before it can be opened. However, with streaming media, the end user can interact with the file as it is downloading. For example, when a video is being streamed, the end user can begin watching the movie without having to wait. Another difference between downloading a file and streaming a file is that the downloaded video files are stored on the end user's device, but, when a video is streamed, the files exist on the end user's device temporarily. Once the streaming application is closed, the data is cleared from the device.
Therefore, streaming is an immediate and continuous method of accessing content from the Internet. In recent years, streaming has become the most common method used for watching videos or listening to music.
The advantages of streaming are that streaming is immediate or nearly immediate. The content begins to play instantly, however large the file might be. Since streaming doesn't require storage space on the client's device, a large hard drive isn't necessary. Perhaps most significantly, most streaming applications allow clients to choose what they want to watch on their own time, without having to follow a cable or radio content schedule.
However, there are potential disadvantages to streaming over downloading a file. For one thing, an active Internet connection is required. Streaming can only be accomplished when the client's device is connected to the Internet, and large media files require higher Internet feeds, otherwise the client will be presented with buffering delays. Because streaming is a real-time activity, an Internet connection will be required every time the client wants to view the same movie, while a downloaded file only has to be downloaded once.
For reference, Streaming Media Software is covered in our Computers & Internet section.
Livestreaming is the real-time delivery of content that is simultaneously recorded and sent over the Internet, similar to the way in which live television broadcasts are delivered. Livestreaming requires a source media, such as a video camera, audio interface, and screen capture software, as well as an encoder to digitize the content, a media publisher, and a content delivery network to distribute and deliver the content.
Streaming media has significantly diminished the viability of the once popular DVD industry, causing the closure of several DVD rental companies, such as Blockbuster, while Netflix and Redbox have survived by focusing on streaming services, while continuing their DVD rental business.
Once one of the largest DVD rental companies, Netflix is now the largest (by subscribers) service offering streaming video on demand, followed by Amazon Prime Video, Disney+/ESPN+, Tencent Video, IQIYI, HBO Max/Discovery+, Youku, YouTube Premium, Paramount+/Showtime, Apple TV+, and Hulu, and several others with fewer than 30 million subscribers. Some of these have a worldwide reach, while others are available in only one country or multiple countries.
Free, ad-supported streaming video services with thirty million subscribers or more include Facebook Watch, Pluto TV, Roku Channel, Tubi, Crackle, Abema, and FilmRise.
Streaming audio on demand services mostly stream music, and are more difficult to gauge since some of them don't require a login for access, or may offer free access without a login, along with an optional premium subscription. Those with a stated number of active users above thirty million include Spotify, Gaana, SoundCloud, iHeartRadio, JioSaavn, TuneIn, Apple Music, Anghami, Pandora, QQ Music, Amazon Music, Music Choice, NetEase Cloud Music, YouTube Music, and Sirius XM.
Common live streaming packages include Facebook Watch, YouTube Live, Lifestreaming, Twitch, and Bigo Live.
Live streaming of video games became popular during the 2010s. This is an activity in which people broadcast themselves playing games to a live audience online. Originating largely on Twitch, the practice soon found its way to YouTube, Facebook, Steam, and others. Esports has also gained significance in livestream gaming.
The focus of this part of our web guide is largely on the providers of streaming media content, although online resources covering other aspects of streaming media may also be appropriate for this category.
Recommended Resources
Audible's original product was a portable media player known as the Audible MobilePlayer, released in 1997, which required audiobook content to be downloaded to the device before it was available for playing. In 2019, Audible Air allowed users to download audiobooks directly to PDAs and smartphones, with content updating automatically, downloading chapters that would auto-delete after they were listened to. In 2008, Amazon acquired Audible, which is now a subsidiary.
https://www.audible.com/
Founded by BBC Studios and ITV, Britbox is an online digital video subscription service that operates in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Norway. Focused on British television series and films, the service began original programming in 2020. The streaming service offers a free 7-day trial, after which the client can choose to make monthly or annual payments. Britbox's original programming is highlighted.
https://www.britbox.com/
Previously known as Grouper and Sony Crackle, the American video streaming service was founded in 2004, and was acquired by Sony Pictures in 2006. In 2019, Sony sold the majority interest in the service to Chicken Soup for the Soul. Its programming includes action, comedy, crime, drama, horror, and science fiction, and includes films and TV shows from Sony Pictures and its subsidiaries, as well as original programming. Crackle is currently only available in the US.
https://www.crackle.com/
The American subscription video-on-demand, over-the-top streaming media service is owned by Sony Group Corporation, and primarily distributes films and television series produced by East Asian media, including Japanese anime and manga. Premium access to the site allows for unlimited anime, no advertising, and access to new episodes on the same day that it is released in Japan. A trial offer is available. Its content may be found by genre, alphabetically, or by other variables.
https://www.crunchyroll.com/
Owned and operated by the Disney Entertainment division of The Walt Disney Company, Disney+ is an American subscription video-on-demand, over-the-top streaming service that primarily distributes films and television series produced by The Walt Disney Studios and Walt Disney Television. The service utilizes technology developed by Disney Streaming Services. Subscription plan options may include Disney+ alone, or it may be bundled with other streaming services.
https://www.disneyplus.com/
A subsidiary of WarnerMedia Direct, LLC, a unit owned by Warner Brothers Discovery Global Streaming & Interactive Entertainment, the subscription video-on-demand, over-the-top streaming service began in 2020, replacing its previous HBO Now and HBO Go. Its content includes the libraries of HBO Warner Brothers, Cartoon Network, and Adult Swim, as well as first-run programming from the HBO pay television service. Subscription options include monthly or annual payments, with or without advertising.
https://www.hbomax.com/
Based in the United States, Hulu is a subscription video streaming service. The Walt Disney Company is the company's majority owner, with Comcast's NBC Universal holding a minority stake. Beginning in 2007, Hulu offers a large collection of films and television series from a variety of studios, as well as original programming. Currently, Hulu offers two subscription options: Hulu content alone, or Hulu content bundled with Disney+ and ESPN, all with advertising.
https://www.hulu.com/
Streaming unlimited music, several radio stations, and podcasts in one application, iHeartRadio is a free streaming service that also includes a subscription option for an ad-free experience, play songs on demand, replay songs from the radio, listen offline, and have unlimited access to millions of songs. Users may listen to thousands of curated playlists, organized by mood, activity, decade, and genre, and they can create personalized music stations based on their favorite artists.
https://www.iheart.com/
Developed by Apple, iTunes is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client application for the iTunes Store, and is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital multimedia, on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating systems. At one time operating from the same application, Apple has since separated its music, television, and podcast content into three dedicated applications.
https://www.apple.com/itunes/
Netflix is a media-services provider and production company known for streaming movies, television series, documentaries, and other productions, including its original, in-house film productions, which the company has been focusing on more and more. Its original business model included DVD sales and rentals, although sales were suspended a year after its founding in 1997, although it still provides a DVD rental service in parallel with its streaming productions, at DVD.com.
http://www.netflix.com/
When the subscription video-on-demand streaming service began in 2014, it focused on the live streaming of CBS programming from its local affiliates, as well as on-demand access to CBS programs and library content. It expanded into original programming in 2016 and also draws from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures and Paramount Pictures, and was rebranded as Paramount+ in 2021 when it expanded from the United States into Latin America, and later Europe and other regions.
https://www.paramountplus.com/
Owned and operated by the television and streaming division of NBC Universal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Taking its name from the NBC log, Peacock is a US over-the-top video streaming service that began in 2020, and primarily carries series and film content from NBC Universal Studios and other third-party content providers, including TV series, films, news, and sports programming, and is available in a free ad-supported version with limited content, and a larger content library for premium tiers.
https://www.peacocktv.com/
Headquartered in the Manhattan borough of New York City, Sirius XM Holdings is an American broadcasting company formed in 2008 from the merger of Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio, subsequently operating as SiriusXM Radio, acquiring Pandora in 2018. Its flagship subscription service, SiriusXM, and the ad-supported and premium music streaming services of Pandora, reach a monthly audience of about 150 million users, offering a range of content. Its brand platforms are listed.
https://www.siriusxm.com/
The proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider is one of the largest music streaming services. Offering digital, copyright-restricted, recorded audio content from record labels and media companies, the service is available in most of Europe, as well as Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania. Its site includes a help site, community support forums, customer support, and both free and premium options. Advertising and job opportunities are available.
https://open.spotify.com/
Starz is a US premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment and is the flagship property of parent-subsidiary, Starz, Inc. Founded in 1994 as a multiplex service of Encore, Starz operates six 24-hour multiplex channels, a subscription video-on-demand service, and its own over-the-top streaming platform that is sold directly to streaming-only consumers. Available series and movies are highlighted, along with live TV schedules.
https://www.starz.com/
Launched in 2005, Veoh was originally designed to be a virtual television network application, although its business model was changed to become a video-sharing site in 2006. By the mid-2000s, it was one of the largest video-sharing sites, although it was soon superseded by YouTube, Vimeo, and Dailymotion. Veoh was saved from bankruptcy by Qlipso, Inc, in 2010, and later sold to FC2, Inc. which still owns it. Membership is free, and its content is sorted into topic categories.
https://www.veoh.com/
