How has streaming changed animation?

[The Overlord]

How has streaming changed animation?

I think there a couple of key ways, first it adult action animation more viable, now that it does not have to fight for air time with other shows. In fact action animation for kids and adults has been revived by streaming.

Also more quality control and less filler, shows will last as long as the creator wants to tell the story, usually 3 to 5 seasons. No more 5 to 10 years of a hero foiling a villains zany schemes each week, now the there is a build up to a final confrontation.

 

[KeldeoKitty]

One of the things I like about streaming is that a lot of legacy cartoons became easily available again especially Cartoon Network and Disney TVA releasing most of their libraries on their own services HBO Max and Disney+. For such a long time I’ve been scrambling to track their shows digitally or physically but a lot of their shows only had partial DVD releases or none at all and had very sporadic digital availability prior to these services.

Also while the services like Netflix can still cancel shows, at least you don’t have to worry about a programming schedule and watch whatever you want at will. However some shows on streaming services are hard to find without looking hard enough. For instance with Wander over Yonder on Disney+ is listed in the Comedy section only, but not in the Animation or Kids sections even though it would make sense to do so. It’s a little annoying but I at least know Wander is finally on Disney+ as it wasn’t on it for 18 months.

 

[Antiyonder]

1. Yeah as long as people speak via their binging choices, I definitely think overtime there will be less of a particular show being favored at the expense of others. Ranting online about how Nick, CN and Disney handle their programs is good for venting, but showing them that you're willing to put in the time to binge their other stuff speaks louder than rants.

2. Well for those who remember my (more) cringey days in the 2000s, CN Real was something I was very vocal about for numerous reasons. Specifically the contrast between early and end of the 2000s.

The start of the decade you didn't see certain shows being spammed frequently, several networks beyond the big three had Saturday morning blocks, even having animated shows on the weekdays and even if more exclusive, networks with the older stuff not given the shaft for the top modern show.

As the decade came to a close, well CN was at least preparing or had more improvements on the animation front, but you still had the CN Real, Nicktoons was slowly offering less alternatives to say it's older bro, XD replaced Toon Disney. Plus seldomly any thing outside the big three, Nicktoons and Boomerang (Which I'd say was still a step up from how it was mid-2010s). Maybe the Vortex block on the CW and the usual adultcoms on Fox.

Yeah there's room for improvement to be sure and maybe there it is possible to be overwhelmed by having many viewing option, but not enough time to watch them all.

But as I said regarding the end of the 2000s as an animation fan, I'd argue that even with say CN is attempting live action again, today I don't feel like we are lacking in alternatives. The animation library of Plus alone for example has more animation that the big three and Boomerang combined.

Definitely prefer so much to view and so little time VS say DVDs being the sole option.

And that's just the stuff we can only watch via pay. TubiTV* is full of a lot of oldest favorites or say old shows from the 2000s and 2010s that we weren't even aware of. Legal and free. Even various companies with a lot of old favs are slowly following suit. We have The Real Ghostbusters, Marvel Anime and The Spectacular Spider-Man, plus a lot of so bad they're good video game cartoons from The Super Mario Bros Super Show to Donkey Kong Country**. I've even been watching Strawberry Shortcake Berry in the Big City from time to time from it's Wild Brain channel.


So yeah options compared to the end of 2009 are more plentiful, and if you feel the big kids aren't taking animation serious, get some refreshments and marathon like there's no tomorrow.

*Ironically Tubi came to my attention cause of the Toku content. They even added one recently I want to check out (Kamen Rider Ryuki).

*For one, Wild Brain's channel even has the Battletoads pilot and Pole Position, Crackle has Street Fighter which while lacking Raul Julia has some good M Bison lines from Richard Newman and Tubi has the Double Dragon series.

 

[Alph]

A greater focus on continuity and story arcs is a big one. Writers don't have to worry about networks airing episodes out of order anymore, and new viewers are always able to start right from the beginning of the show, and viewers can watch episodes in quicker succession than they used to.

 

[JoeMabbon]

I think streaming has lead to a greater focus on IP. While this was always important (and streaming isn't the only factor), I think there are alot of franchises and properties that are being revived because algorithms picked up on their popularity within a streaming service's catalog or because a familiar name is likely to generate an impulse view.

 

[Mostezli]

I think streaming has lead to a greater focus on IP. While this was always important (and streaming isn't the only factor), I think there are a lot of franchises and properties that are being revived because algorithms picked up on their popularity within a streaming service's catalog or because a familiar name is likely to generate an impulse view.

I think the revivals & the ever-growing expansion of franchises are more for streaming service recognition (a franchise gets its own category the way an IP gets its own Pluto TV channel), since there are so many more streaming services now. Pretty much the most invested step to guaranteed subscription & viewership. Plus, we've come to the point of shows which advertise movies - beyond just Disney & Dreamworks as well as toons that advertise other live-action shows adapted from the same universe of IP (beyond just Marvel & DC).

 

[Leviathan]

Streaming has resulted in a race to the bottom, in terms of budgets and schedules. Streamers want show pumped out faster and cheaper than ever before.



Streamers are also a lot less invested in shows. It's all about fattening up libraries, so most streaming shows die quick deaths in obscurity.