In 2016, streaming giant Netflix expanded their subscriber base worldwide, including the Philippines in their 190-territory expansion. In just three short years, users have ballooned with nearly 300,000 in 2020, according to the statistics website Statista.

Netflix itself experienced a meteoric rise in the last decade. Originally founded as a rent-by-mail DVD service, they expanded to original programming in 2011 with their acquisition of the TV show "House of Cards." Now, it boasts a content library that doesn’t just include Western films and TV shows but also international titles, from K-dramas to Filipino films.

This rise has paved the way for other streaming platforms. Major studios and corporations like Amazon, and now Disney and Apple, have built their own platforms (Amazon Prime, Disney+, and Apple TV, respectively) and have started producing and acquiring their own films and TV shows made specifically for these platforms. Even Facebook and YouTube have since ventured into original programming.

As streaming continuously grows to become the new way people watched television and films, more platforms have made themselves available for Filipino audiences. Hooq and iFlix were first available to the Philippine market around the same time Netflix came in, but found it challenging to gain traction. These days, Filipinos can subscribe to these sites as well as HBO Go, and popular platforms Viu and Crunchyroll for Asian content.

Local player iWant has also shifted to provide on-demand films and TV shows. Since its rebrand in 2018, iWant has also ventured into producing original content.

GLOBAL REACH

The shift to streaming has provided filmmakers and content creators a variety of platforms at their disposal. A number of Filipino films and TV shows, both mainstream and independent, are available on Netflix. "Dead Kids," directed by Mikhail Red, enjoyed worldwide release last year as the first Netflix original Filipino film.

Indies that premiered at local film festivals like Cinemalaya are also able to gain a second wind through online platforms like iWant, iFlix, and Hooq. Despite limited runs in movie houses, these films are able to capture audiences, gain following, and possibly generate revenue.

The propagation of these streaming platforms -- and more importantly, the push for original programming -- could mean that films like "Dead Kids" will just be the first of many Filipino-made movies to be included and even produced by these sites not just for Filipino audiences, but for global viewers as well.

These platforms also encourage filmmakers to break studio and mainstream molds. Directors can expand the kind of stories they want to tell, as well as how they want to tell them. It also challenges filmmakers to be creative with their craft to make films specifically tailored for streaming, or even mobile users, as opposed to televisions or the big screen.

UNPRECEDENTED ACCESSIBILITY

The impact of streaming may be bigger on the audiences themselves. While most Filipinos have yet to fully embrace streaming, the option is available and varied. Local audiences are no longer limited to cable channels as these platforms are quick to include the Philippines whenever they expand globally. The variety of content also enables film enthusiasts to venture beyond Western media if they so choose.

Just as important as the cultural variety afforded by streaming platforms is the availability of local content to Filipino audiences. Based on data released by Netflix on their most popular releases in the Philippines, local audiences don’t just subscribe to streaming platforms to access international content, but to consume stories made by Filipinos. While the Ryan Reynolds film, "6 Underground," topped their chart, local titles like "Eerie" and "Miss Granny" ranked high with Filipino Netflix subscribers.

The convenience of consuming media also changed drastically in the last decade. These platforms offer Smart TV support as well as Android and iOS-compatible apps with sync technology that enable users to pick up where they left off regardless of device. They can watch new and critically-acclaimed movies like "Marriage Story" and "The Irishman" on the family television, or on the mobile device during the morning commute.

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Audiences are also no longer bound by TV schedules nor commercial breaks. Filipinos, too, don't have to wait a year or so before today’s fresh title will air on television. Affordable subscription fees that range from P129.00 a month for iFlix to P550.00 a month for a Netflix family plan also make it a competitive option to standard cable and cinemas, with ticket prices rising nearly 50% in the last decade.

LOOKING AHEAD

The volume of films and television available to Filipinos through streaming will only grow, with emerging platforms inevitably expanding their subscription base beyond North America and Europe. Adoption, while slow, will also only increase as digital native generations take up a majority of the film-going public.

With local audiences clamoring for Filipino content, adding more Filipino films and television shows on these platforms may entice them to shift away from traditional media and subscribe to streaming websites.

Before long, streaming may become more than a rising trend locally, and truly become the new normal.