Why Cinemas Are Not As Popular In The Age Of Streaming
In today’s article, we will discuss the reasons why more and more people are beginning to use streaming services over going to a cinema.
Accessibility
The first reason for this preference to use video streaming services is that not many people have easy access to their nearest cinema for the film they would like to watch. This is due to many different factors such as transport, distances, and the fact you can use a streaming service on any of the newest devices, as long as you have a connection to the internet.
Expanding on the factor of transport, plenty of people may not have a reliable or easy method of transport, such as a car or any public transport service such as a bus or train.
If they live in the remote countryside, there is a chance they do not have public transport nearby, which would be ideal as it would mean that travelling would be cheaper than using a car which has to be charged or refueled, which costs a lot of money to people with low salary jobs during the current cost of living crisis. You could walk or cycle but you probably would not want to travel a long distance to a cinema with this method as you could become fatigued.
Cost
We have already discussed the fact that the cost of living crisis has affected the ability to run your car but another factor in the cost of watching a film is how much it costs to watch a film at the cinema versus how much it costs to watch a film at home with a video streaming app.
Cinema
When considering watching a film at a cinema, you probably think about sitting in a comfy seat with a box of popcorn and a drink but what you may not see is the cost of all these luxuries.
To watch the new ‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’, it costs £5.99 to sit in the cheapest seats at a Vue cinema without any food and drink and in 2D, which is quite a lot of money to watch one film for the lowest price and with adverts before the film starts. For food and drink from these cinemas, it costs £2.60 for the smallest popcorn box and £2.99 for water, which people may turn down if they are on a tight budget during the current crisis.
Streaming
On the other hand, if you would like to watch films for a better price, I would recommend streaming at home, which is exactly what people are doing instead of watching at a cinema!
Take a look at Netflix; their cheapest option is £4.99 a month to watch most films and TV shows at any time you desire, but this does display advertisements when using the service and is not their highest quality option. This is a great price for people who want to watch films and TV shows on a budget!
If you do not like the sound of that, Amazon’s Prime Video service costs just £5.99 per month to watch films and TV shows made to be exclusive for the service and from certain series or producers. This does not include adverts and some people are switching from Netflix to Prime Video for this which is just another reason why people are using these services over cinemas.
COVID-19
After the outbreak of COVID-19 near the end of the last decade, media coverage of the virus was high but does not get covered in the news as much, currently. However, this does not mean the deadly virus is not going around anymore as some people have noticed when looking at the statistics of infections and deaths, which is another reason why people do not want to roam around in public spaces to watch a film at the cinema and instead use a video streaming service.
When you are at home on your own, you can neither contract nor spread the coronavirus, which is good for your health as you have less risk of experiencing long-term symptoms after recovering from the virus.
In Conclusion…
Film viewers have every right to choose streaming over cinemas, with all this in mind! I think people will still use cinemas if they do not have the required technology to use an app like this, such as a smart device or internet access, but in years to come that will improve. Thank you for reading my article today!
Written by Mark Murphy Director