In the past, new media could not replace or displace old media. Audiocassettes didn’t replace vinyl records. Even mp3 and streaming sound failed to fully replace vinyl discs, which are now enjoying a resurgence among audiophiles. Television certainly did not replace cinema or radio. VCRs and DVDs did not replace live television. Cable TV did not replace broadcast television. Satellite TV did not replace cable. But yes, all of them evolved. Single cinema halls became multiplexes. VCRs morphed into DVDs (although they were still called “home videos”), then those DVDs turned into Blu Rays. And analog TV transmission became digital, with each station allowed multiple channels.
The entertainment industry always made sure that, ultimately, each new technology complemented and supplemented the old one… until the streaming platform advocates came along. Talk about history repeating itself. Originally, theater owners fought television. The anti-home video brigade fought the introduction of VCRs. The anti-syndication advocates battled Fin-Syn. Broadcasters lobbied against cable TV. And finally, streaming advocates declared war on the “middle man” in order to go directly to consumers with all kinds of entertainment.
However, while previous media wars ended up with all sides, not only winning, but succeeding, the goal of the streamers is to do away with all other forms of entertainment. As a first step, the U.S. studios that own the streaming platforms reduced or eliminated international content sales, and in the process lost over $15 billion a year. The second step was the studios (which also own the TV networks) weakening broadcast television. In the process of doing so, they lost even more billions. And, thirdly, they created an unsustainable business model for their streaming platforms, which made them lose more than they could afford, which will make them lose their shirts (which is a metaphor for losing their companies to social media enterprises).
The irony is that old media, in the form of analog technology, will prove much more reliable than digital technology during catastrophic events like nuclear wars and even solar storms, without even talking about hacking.
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