National Streaming Day | |
---|---|
Observed by | International |
Type | Cultural |
Significance | A day celebrating streaming services and promotional offers |
Celebrations | Streaming media |
Date | May 20 |
Frequency | annual |
Related to | Roku, Disney+, ESPN+, Streaming media |
National Streaming Day is an unofficial holiday occurring on May 20, intended to celebrate streaming media. It was established in 2014 by Roku. In recent years, some streaming services have used the holiday to offer streaming promotions or discounted products.
National Streaming Day was started by the streaming platform Roku, initially to celebrate the anniversary of their first streaming device launch, The Netflix Player, on May 20, 2008. The first holiday was celebrated on May 20, 2014. [1] It began as a celebration of streaming, with users of streaming platforms "encouraged to stream at least 60 minutes of their favorite entertainment today and share their selection using hashtag." [2]
More recently, the holiday began to see streaming services make announcements of upcoming content and/or releases. Roku often offers discounts on their devices, such as Roku Streaming Stick+ and Roku Ultra. They also offered free access to normally exclusive content that would require payment or subscription. [3] This was following a partnership with Showtime to offer some of their exclusive content for free on May 20. [4] [5]
On National Streaming Day 2020, Disney+, ESPN+ and Roku announced a collaboration to release exclusive news and series sneak peeks. [6]
On National Streaming Day 2020, Disney announced the release of Muppets Now, an unscripted Muppets show to air on Disney+. [7] It also used the unofficial holiday to announce a monthly bundle deal where the three streaming services were available for $12.99 a month. [8] Disney used May 20, 2020, to also announce the release of new content, the film Artemis Fowl. [9] During the same year, ESPN used National Streaming Day to announce the return of Peyton's Places for a second season. [10]
In 2021, Roku announced the release of their new Roku Originals on National Streaming Day. [11] [12] [13] [ relevant? ]
Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as television series and films, as over-the-top media service (OTT). Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aerial systems, cable television, and/or satellite television systems. In the United States, streaming television has become "the dominant form of TV viewing."
Hulu is an American subscription streaming media and content hub within the Disney+ streaming service owned by The Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007.
Roku, Inc. is a U.S. listed company founded by Anthony Wood in 2002. It runs a streaming service through Roku-branded streaming players and smart TVs, supporting both advertising and subscription models on its platform. Roku tops U.S. streaming TV distribution, reaching households with an estimated 120 million people. Outside the U.S., the company operates in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the U.K., and several Latin American countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.
FX Networks, LLC is a company consisting of a network of the original American version of the channel, plus a production company and a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment business division of The Walt Disney Company. Originally a part of News Corporation and later 21st Century Fox, the company was acquired by The Walt Disney Company on March 20, 2019. Consequently, FX Networks was integrated into the newly renamed Walt Disney Television unit.
YouTube TV is an American streaming television service operated by YouTube, a subsidiary of Google. Announced on February 28, 2017, the virtual multichannel video programming distributor offers a selection of live linear channel feeds and on-demand content from more than 100 television networks and over 30 OTT-originated services, as well as a cloud-based DVR.
MGM+, is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by the MGMPlus Entertainment subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), which is itself a subsidiary of Amazon MGM Studios. The network's programming consists of recent and older theatrically released motion pictures, original television series, documentaries, and music and comedy specials.
TV Everywhere refers to a type of American subscription business model wherein access to streaming video content from a television channel requires users to "authenticate" themselves as current subscribers to the channel, via an account provided by their participating pay television provider, in order to access the content.
Roku is a brand of smart TV operating systems, smart TVs, streaming devices, and smart home and audio products designed and marketed by Roku, Inc., headquartered in San Jose, California, United States. Roku's smart TV products primarily offer access to streaming media content, including streaming television, from online services.
PlayStation Vue was an American streaming television service that was owned by the Sony Interactive Entertainment subdivision of the Sony Corporation of America division of Sony. Launched with a limited major-market rollout on March 18, 2015, the service – which was structured in the style of a multichannel video programming distributor – combined live TV, on-demand video, and cloud-based DVR to stream television programs, movies, and sporting events directly to a PlayStation console or other supported device – including smart TVs, digital media players and apps – without a subscription to a cable or satellite television provider. Targeting cord cutters, PlayStation Vue was designed to complement subscription video-on-demand services. As of August 26, 2018, the service had approximately 745,000 subscribers. On October 29, 2019, Sony announced PlayStation Vue would be ending service on January 30, 2020, because "the highly competitive Pay TV industry, with expensive content and network deals, has been slower to change than we expected".
Sling TV is an American streaming television service operated by Sling TV LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dish Network. Unveiled on January 5, 2015, at the Consumer Electronics Show, the virtual multichannel video programming distributor aims to complement subscription video on demand services for cord cutters, offering a selection of major cable channels and OTT-originated services that can be streamed through smart TVs, digital media players and apps. The service is available in the United States and Puerto Rico as of 2015.
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ESPN+ is an American over-the-top subscription video streaming service available in the United States, owned by the ESPN division of the Walt Disney Company, in partnership with ESPN Inc., which is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the Hearst Communications. It is one of Disney's three flagship subscription streaming brands in the United States, alongside Disney+ and Hulu, and operates using technology of Disney subsidiary BAMTech, now known as Disney Streaming.
Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming media service owned and operated by Disney Streaming, the streaming division of Disney Entertainment, a major business segment of the Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television shows produced by Walt Disney Studios and Disney Television Studios, with dedicated content hubs for Disney's flagship brands; Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, ESPN, Hulu, and Star as well as showcasing original and exclusive films and television shows.
Quibi was an American short-form streaming platform that generated content for viewing on mobile devices. It was founded in Los Angeles in August 2018 as NewTV by Jeffrey Katzenberg and was led by Meg Whitman as CEO. The service raised $1.75 billion from investors. It launched in April 2020, but shut down in December 2020 after falling short of its subscriber projections. In January 2021, Quibi's content library was sold to Roku, Inc. for less than $100 million. The platform's concepts and failure inspired widespread mockery.
Chrissy's Court is an American comedic arbitration-based court show starring television personality and model Chrissy Teigen and her mother, Vilailuck "Pepper Thai" Teigen. The series premiered on April 6, 2020, on Quibi.
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