Netflix was launched April 14, 1998, as an online DVD rental service. Since then the platform has grown and taken the world by storm. Long before Netflix was even a thing Live TV started up back in the late 1950s. Back when TV came out people could never imagine sitting on their phones or computers watching shows like “Stranger Things” or “Orange Is the New Black” in the comfort of their own beds. 

As Nexflix grew in popularity new streaming services slowly started to emerge over the past few years such as Youtube Red, Hulu, HBO now, and many more. It seems that almost every live television channel now has their own streaming service to accompany them. And with Disney launching their own streaming service “Disney +” November 19th, we can tell that the future of entertainment has more to look forward to.

So the real question is why are people switching to streaming services? The fact of only paying $8.99 to watch thousands of shows does sound appealing compared to COX live TV for $69.99 per month. There are advantages of owning live TV though such as being the first to see something live like a football game or a new show, but services like Hulu and YouTube TV have their own live TV platform. 

Streaming services are starting to make more original shows that are exclusive to their platforms. Netflix has over 1,500 hours of original content to watch that is only exclusive on Netflix, similar to other services like Hulu and Amazon.

Should you switch to streaming services? Well, that is mainly based on preference and how much you would even use it. Many people choose not to have any at all and only use free services like Youtube to get their daily entertainment, but if you are choosing to buy a service of some sort, you have some options. Live TV gives you the advantage of watching sports and shows as they happen and be the first to watch it, but with the disadvantage of ads and breaks. Hulu also has advertisements but you can pay extra to remove them like Youtube as well. Starting off and paying for one service like Netflix can seem cheap and inexpensive, but if you want access to all channels, movies and shows then you might end up paying for more services and the bills could pile up quickly.

So if you do decide to pay for a form of entertainment it is mainly based on preference, although the preferred choice would be to pay for a service like Netflix. Live TV has some options of channels and shows, but if you have the patience to wait for them to come out later on streaming services then that would definitely be your best bet. So choose your option and sit back, relax, and watch some movies.