During the Golden Age of Television, which took place between the late-1940s and late-1950s, the United States saw one of the highest levels of multimedia production. With hundreds of new shows aired across the nation, people practically became TV-bound during some point of their day. As the 1960s approached however, new technology, which was vastly underestimated by existing production companies, put an end to the booming market. Once the resources to record programs came to life, people were no longer interested in waiting for their favorite shows, and they simply watched taped broadcasts without adhering to any time-based constraints instead.

Failing to Account for the Innovation

According to a plethora of seasoned veterans of the entertainment industry, one of which is entertainment executive and producer Michael Luisi, companies that cornered the market during the Golden Age made millions of dollars in profits. While such a figure may seem relatively normal nowadays, it is important to take inflation into account. For example,  $100 in 1950 would translate to north of $1,000 in 2018. Unfortunately, even after acquiring an unprecedented amount of wealth, many of these organizations soon watched their revenue figures plummet.

When people gained the ability to record TV programs, production companies could no longer gather millions of viewers at set times. That meant much lower income from advertisements and a significant drop in ratings. Hence the Golden Age came to an abrupt end, and most television-based businesses who were thriving never saw the likes of such prosperity again. Not recognizing the innovation that could threaten their status put them in a vulnerable position. So, would it be fair to assume that modern day businesses pay much more attention to technology improvements? Although it would certainly be a legitimate assumption, it is not entirely true. Ironically enough, the same scenario repeated itself just a few decades later.

Television and DVD Rentals

Since recorded programs eliminated the providers’ power to earn substantial income from live television, the age of digital versatile discs, better known as DVDs, ensued. Instead of watching movies and shows during their scheduled times, people could rent DVDs and watch them whenever and wherever they pleased. This approach let them take advantage of a much wider offering given that the average DVD catalog included nearly everything that was ever recorded.

So, as per the specialists like Michael Luisi, organizations who cornered the DVD market, the biggest of which would be Blockbuster, started bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars. With a booming rental sector accompanied by an upward-trending economy, suggesting that these companies would face the same destiny as their counterparts from the Golden Age seemed foolhardy. Yet, once streaming services entered the scene, history repeated itself again.

Final Fall of the Television

In 2004, Blockbuster, which reached the highest point of its existence, operated a whopping total of 9,000 stores world-wide. The problem, however, was that this took place only two years after Netflix entered the scene. Since Blockbuster’s entire business model revolved around people physically renting DVDs, the consequences of online alternatives could be damning. And they were.

Less than six years after peaking with 9,000 stores across the world, Blockbuster was forced to file for bankruptcy in 2010. Driven down to merely 25,000 employees, the company owed over $1 billion. Although they hoped to use the bankruptcy proceeding as a tool of reorganization, like many other brands who pursue this route, they continued to move on a downward-sloping spiral. As of 2019, Blockbuster has a total of three employees and only one active store in the entire world. Meanwhile, Netflix currently has 151.1 million subscribers, which excludes another five to ten million that they anticipate adding before the end of the year, and over $15.7 billion in revenues for 2018.

A New Era: The Age of Streaming

Because of how rapidly Netflix grew, Michael Luisi, who participated in strategic partnerships with studios such as Lionsgate, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros, anticipates that many other providers will enter the market. For example, people can now also sign up for platforms like Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube and probably another 20 or 30 solid options. While it started as a way to deliver movies online, streaming services now include sports, live television programs, news outlets, digital recording, satellite-based channels, and more.

Although DVDs are still around, they are mostly recognized as an obsolete alternative to streaming, not a real competitor in the television industry. In fact, a lot of cable networks are facing similar issues. Instead of signing up for services provided by local companies, which usually include Verizon, Dish, AT&T, and similar, viewers are turning to streaming solutions like the ones listed earlier. Doing so often results in significant savings as one can sign up for a selected list of programs. The days of purchasing cable packages with 500 or more channels while only watching 20 or 30 of them are slowly coming to an end. So, below are the most important revolutions that took place over the past century:

  • Live television led to the creation of the Golden Age;
  • Technology allowing people to record programs killed the Golden Age;
  • DVD rentals became the leading player in the industry;
  • Online streaming services obliterated DVD rentals;
  • Online streaming services continue to threaten every television-based alternative.


While it is impossible to accurately predict where the market will go next, as proved by many unforeseen developments in the past, it seems that online streaming is here to stay. If anything, it will probably continue improving until non-streaming services become the symbol of obsolescence.