2013 – When Online TV Became Mainstream

All TV fans realized that something huge has been happening in online TV in 2013. No, it’s not about that web-exclusive video shows, streaming set top box or mobile applications. It’s even a greater change. Online TV became completely normal, truly mainstream. These are entertainment news worth spreading.

TV viewers have been watching online TV programs at Netflix, Hulu and similar places for several years. However, until recently, most of this viewing actually involved previously aired programs on cable TV and broadcast. Of course, many geek-centric Internet shows have long been here, but these webisodes were not really something everyday people would like to watch. In 2013, things are absolutely changing.

Here is one of the evidences of how online TV became mainstream: “All my children and one life to live” online revival. Classic soap operas are no longer returning to a broadcast network and cable TV, but to iTunes and Hulu. Even though it might sound like a strategy that would work well for no-name webisodes and tech video podcast, it’s clear we are talking about classic soap operas. Honestly, TV does not get more mainstream than that. However, the first signs of the legitimacy of Online TV among mainstream audience came even earlier in 2013. Even though we don’t know precisely how many people turned into “House of Cards”, it’s clear that this political drama has been popular among the Netflix’s 29 million subscribers and many TV critics. House of Cards got people talking, which is most important. We are still not talking about those tech-savvy people living their geek-lives online. We are talking about everyday, normal people. You could hear them chatting about this quality drama as though it was the latest HBO show. And even though Hulu has 4 million subscribers and therefore this service is significantly smaller than Netflix, it is growing fast.

For these reasons, we can claim that this is the year Online TV went mainstream.