Why web series on streaming services are becoming a new form of entertainment

A lot of things have been changed since the last century in the tech world, SMS messages tuned into WhatsApp, and TV shows and TV series into web shows and web series. Hey Google, “stream my favourite web show from my favourite streaming service on the bedroom TV” is the way how technology holistically changing our experience. Replace your favourite show and streaming service provider with the appropriate ones. Even if you aren’t sophisticated to go hands-free to that level, being able to see your favourite show on your favourite streaming service is one of the best feelings ever in the hour of entertainment.

Rewinding to 10 years back, entertainment was more confined to the television as our favourite shows were aired on that black box with a CRT throwing electrons on a phosphor screen. From movies to daily soaps training daughters how to deal with their mothers-in-law in a simulated world of pseudo-feminism domination, the TV shows were something, which forced the men and women to come back from office and complete their household chores and sit in front of the TV. But web shows and web series are getting popular, at least among the young generation. Well, there are reasons! Hold your breath! I will discuss the reasons behind this unusual transition here in this article.

So let’s get started.

What is the difference between the TV series and Web series? And Why web series are popular?

Lower cost of data and streaming service subscription

Let’s me first talk about the factor that created a breakthrough for the web shows and online streaming services to flourish, at least in India. The Indian telecom operator Jio disrupted the telecommunication industry by offering internet at extremely cheap rates, and the other companies too followed the footsteps. This has created a win-win situation for both telcos and streaming service providers, which eventually made the viewers change the taste with some new form of entertainment.

Coming to the subscription costs of the streaming services, they are way less than that of cable and DTH services, at least after the telecom regulator TRAI recently imposed new rules on how viewers can choose the channels they want to watch and pay for the same. With the new tariff plans structure in action, most users will need to pay significantly extra amounts for getting access to the same channels, and if you can spare Rs. 250 per month for your DTH connection, you will be left with the most common items on the plate. But the scenario is completely different for streaming services. Pay Rs. 2,000 for a year or so, and you can get almost all the national and international channels most users are interested in, not to mention, you can even enjoy some web originals, which are way better than daily soaps.

Watch on your own terms

Now, I don’t think, this is a point I need to elaborate on! If you are stuck at work, and you enjoy your shows only on your TV, the only way to watch the missed episode is to find a time, when the same episode is repeated, typically on the very next day in an unusual time. Well, if you miss that, fuel your thoughts to imagine what happened in the middle, and skip to the next episode! The scenario is different for streaming services.

Watch your shows, no matter where you are, and what the time is! Whether it is on your way to work, before you go to bed, or in those small breaks at your workplace, your shows are always with you, whatever device you are using. You just need a data plan, which is quite affordable nowadays. Moreover, some streaming service providers can even make the episodes available before it is aired on the TV if you have a premium subscription. Well, now you can feel privileged!

Very few or no advertisements

I know how annoying advertisements are when you are in the middle of a suspense-filled episode, where something great is going to happen! I understand, advertisements are important, and it is the source of revenue for every small and big being involved in entertaining us. Most TV shows have 22 to 45 minutes content on average when they are aired for 30 minute and 1 hour. So we see ads 25% of the time. Thus, you are both paying for the DTH or cable service, and what you are served with is ads! What the platform should be! Either pay for the service or see ads. Annoying, I know. This is a long-haul tradition, and it isn’t going to change anytime soon, unfortunately. However, there are some FTA channels, which can be selected free of cost.

But coming to streaming services, you can ignore ads, if you want to. Well, you need a premium subscription for that, and if you spend a lot of time watching TV shows and web shows online, you might already have a premium subscription, which will give you a blissful ad-free experience. Well even if you aren’t a premium member, and you see ads in the middle of your favorite shows, the good thing is, most of them are skippable, and the duration is not as much as those in the TV shows. So if you are already paying for watching TV shows, better pay the same to get a premium subscription from the streaming service, and go ad-free.

Lesser melodrama and new ideas

As I already said at the beginning of the article! Most TV shows today are spiced up with unnecessary melodrama, which hardly has any connection with the real world. Well, I am keeping the biopics and novels that are turned into TV shows, out of the picture. However, there are significant deviations from the true stories they are based on! Now, the youngsters and most elderly people, as well, are not interested in something, which can be anything but not based on reality! Previously they had no other option other than sticking their eyes to the idiot boxes to watch the freaking Saas Bahu serials!

Most web shows today are based on true facts, and things are much more to the point! The shows are interesting, and the producers also keep pondering on new ideas to keep the viewers stick to it. The web shows also have short episodes, with less or no advertisements in the middle, so that you can watch them anytime, anywhere without any hassles at all. The hunt for some new and exclusive ideas is something, which is driving the viewers away from TV shows towards the new vista of entertainment, i.e. web shows and web series.

Fewer episodes leading to more fun

Even the motorable road to the highest mountain with the toughest twists will feel ashamed in front of the innumerable twists and turns in a daily soap. Yes! We all love twists! But they should be relevant. The twists in the daily soaps are the unique methods to expand the episode count unnecessarily. I have seen a handful of daily soaps getting aired for years before they finally ended, and each of them had multiple unnecessary twists and turns deviating from the actual subject or storyline of the show. The more the number of episodes, the more they can earn from the sponsors.

It isn’t the same on web shows. Most web shows have 15 to 20 episodes count, and a few might have multiple session, and the maximum episode count will be close to 100, totaling up all the sessions. Fewer episodes make things more interesting, just the way you care for that guest who is special and visits you once in a blue moon.

Binge-watching for unlimited entertainment

We wait for the suspense-filled episode of our favorite daily soap like we are going to get an expensive freebie from our boss after nailing that assignment! And what you get in return! Yes, your suspense is addressed to some extent but not completely. Sometimes we are shown the other side of the story, and the part we are waiting for is aired in the last couple of minutes, and we have to wait for one more day to watch what exactly happens.

Fast-forwarding to today, we have the liberty to watch as many episodes we want back to back if we have a few hours in hand. How cool is that! No matter, whether it is a long trip, you are waiting for your partner, who comes late on every date, the episodes are always with you, and you can watch them forgetting everything. If you heard binge-watching for the first time, it is watching multiple episodes of a show back to back. So you don’t need to find out half an hour to an hour time regularly to sit in front of the TV, as you can watch them all, once you get a big chunk of time for yourself to relax.

Discover a hell lot of genres and choose as per your mood

Well, talking about everyday TV shows, we only get to watch, what is aired. Most of them are family viewable, and there are a handful of genres. There is nothing to deny in that. But we might want to watch some romantic shows at night, and some thriller ones in the evening. But it is all up to the broadcasters when they will broadcast a particular show. It is practically impossible to air the shows at a particular time for the individual viewers, and you don’t need rocket science to understand why.

While on the other hand, you can find any show to watch as per your moods. Not only that, you can even choose the web show you want to watch from a wide variety of genres, and you have the independence to skip from one show to another any time you want. So you will no longer need to compromise with your leisure time by consuming only those, the broadcasters have to serve.

Watch your show in multiple languages

You might be a fan of regional TV shows in your own language or the TV shows which are aired in Hindi. In both the cases, you have to watch the episodes with the audio, either in the regional language or in Hindi, whichever language the audio is available in. You might get subtitles in English, which can be useful in some situations.

But today, a few streaming services make the audio available in different languages for a few series, if not all. Talking about Hotstar, which is the most popular streaming service provider in India, the audio for the Hotstar Specials, a series exclusively for the premium subscribers, is available in all the major Indian languages, which is cool, to say the least. Even though most users might not need that, but I bet, there is a big group of people, who will find it handy.

Well, web series, web shows, and entertainment through streaming services are just very convenient, to say the least. But, TV shows will not go obsolete anytime soon, as the internet penetration in India still needs to go a long way. But if you are already paying for a high-speed internet connection, I would rather recommend you to jump on the bandwagon and switch to the new form of entertainment. You can surely cut down on expenses with this small decision.

Hope the information was useful for you, and it was an interesting read! Do you know any other ways, why web shows, web series, and streaming services altogether will take over TV shows in the coming years! Feel free to comment the same down below.

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