As we live in the post-COVID-19 era, streaming services are still spending millions of dollars to get exclusive media rights to broadcast famous shows and movies from the 80s, 90s, and 00s to keep their subscribers engaged appropriately.
In reality, TV streaming platforms are using Nostalgia as a weapon to beat their competitors comprehensively. Due to that particular reason, viewers can watch numerous classic TV shows and movies on Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, such as Friends, The Office, Gilmore Girls, The Adam’s Family, etc. from anywhere on a wide range of devices according to HowToWatch.co.nz, a popular Kiwi entertainment website.
Read this post in detail to know why TV streaming services have added old TV shows and movies in their libraries to make nostalgia a viable business model.
How are Different Streaming Services Taking Full Advantage of Our Nostalgia?
If you belong to Generation X, you would have definitely included Friends, the famous TV series in your preferred streaming list. According to a study, millennial viewers prefer to watch famous shows of the late 80s and 90s during their leisure times using their desired streaming platforms.
Considering the popularity of classic TV shows and Generation X subscribers’ preferences, various streaming services are trying to add such shows in their content libraries respectively.
For example, NBC’s Peacock, a new streaming service has already bought “The Office” from Netflix by paying a whopping amount of $500 million. As a result, Peacock can now telecast “The Office” on its platform for 5 years.
Likewise, HBO Max has successfully managed to get the exclusive media rights to include “Friends” in its media library. The US-based streaming service had to pay $425 million to turn the deal in its favor.
Furthermore, Netflix was able to obtain global streaming rights to Seinfeld for over 5 years.
Why are Classic TV Shows and Movies Still Important in This Age of Streaming?
Surprisingly, TV streaming platforms still understand the importance of recycled content (old shows and movies) in this age of online viewing. The best thing about classic TV shows and films is that Netflix, Hulu, and other platforms can easily sell these profitable shows again and again.
This way, they can earn millions of dollars straightaway without putting a lot of effort in terms of shooting, promotional activities, and other miscellaneous expenditures.
If we go by the logic of George Burger, co-founder of vMedia, keeping old TV shows and movies in media libraries provides various advantages to streaming services.
These successful shows and movies help streaming platforms maintain an edge over other video-on-demand services smartly. Another great thing about these shows is that they are still relevant in this era of digital streaming.
As already mentioned, TV streaming services are using our nostalgia in their favor quite intelligently. The old media content including top-notch shows, films, documentaries, etc. is an impressive way by which streaming platforms can successfully engage their existing subscribers for a longer period.
From viewers’ point of view, classic shows and movies are comfort food for them. They can start watching these blockbuster shows and movies as and when needed on their preferred devices.
Live TV Feature is Another Way of Benefiting from Nostalgia Factor
Different streaming services have started offering live TV features that allow their subscribers to watch classic shows or other old content stress-free. For instance, Hulu and YouTube TV are some of the fewest TV streaming services that provide an excellent live TV feature to their users.
As far as Hulu is concerned, users can subscribe to its Hulu with a Live TV package. By doing so, they can access 60+ TV channels including the CW, Disney Channel, ABC, etc. to watch some of the most famous TV shows of all time. These popular TV shows include General Hospital, Saturday Night Live, etc.
Similarly, YouTube TV is another live TV streaming platform that enables classic show lovers to stream 80+ channels on a wide range of devices. Through YouTube TV, they can access various channels like ABC, BBC America, The CW, etc., and watch classic TV shows of their choice instantly.
To cut the long story short, both these streaming platforms have exploited the nostalgia factor to a great effect.
Wrapping Things Up
Thanks to TV streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, and Disney Plus, you can still watch some classic TV shows and movies like The Golden Girls, Stranger Things, Seinfeld, Pretty Woman, Grey’s Anatomy, etc.
Above all, you do not have to spend hundreds of bucks to revive your old memories while watching these classic shows or movies on your desired streaming services.
The above-described scenario suggests that video-on-demand streaming services such as Netflix, HBO Max, Peacock, etc. will create an attractive blend of old TV shows alongside original productions in the future to retain their existing customer base to a certain extent.
