There is no doubting that 2020 will go down in history and its implications are likely to have a lasting effect for years to come. This is all due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has spread around the world and is causing endless troubles. Lockdowns have been enforced, economies have been ground to a halt, with endless industries and individuals badly affected by this. We have seen business after business closing, with many unlikely to open their doors again, further proving just how serious this situation has been, in what is an unprecedented period of time.
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Improvements are now being made and economies are now looking to bounce back, with restrictions continuing to be eased, as we slowly but surely return back to some form of normality. Virtually any industry around the world has been impacted by this situation and it will therefore come as no surprise that the entertainment business is one of them. It is such a large and diverse industry, with many businesses impacted both positively and negatively and some even both.
Even Netflix has been Hit this Year
One key example of the latter is the popular streaming platform, Netflix. Lockdowns enforced around the world, meant that more and more people were spending extended periods within their homes and looking at a means of entertainment. Netflix provided this and in the early period of the year added an extra 15 million subscribers. That was an incredible result and over double what was anticipated and projected for the opening quarter of 2020. It meant they had increased their subscribers worldwide to around 182 million. This was fantastic news and an example of how some businesses were benefiting, despite the global pandemic.
However, it has not simply been all positive news for Netflix. You only now have to look in recent news, which is showing a steep decline in the value of Netflix’s stock. In the last week alone it has fell by a staggering 13%, from a value of $569 million to $493 million. That is also despite adding an additional 10.1 million subscribers in the second quarter of the year, which was again way up on their previous projections of 7.5 million additional subscribers.
Netflix is a company that invests heavily back in and were in the process of doing so again this year, with an endless number of shows in the middle of filming. Many of these had to be put on hold or even cancelled, which has meant money lost and damaging implications for the company, which is something we will see the effect of in the future. This is also something that we have seen across much of the film industry. Netflix are seeing this drop in stock, but it is not too negative for the company, with the price of the stock still up by about 50% year to date.
How Regular Players have Move to the Best UK Online Casinos
Another key area that has been impacted positively from the pandemic is online casinos. These have proved a popular source for entertainment, as these can be used for socialising through games like poker. Sports cancellations further added to this, with online casinos posting near record numbers, with vast numbers of both new and returning players looking to play these popular games that are available. Many have been using no deposit casino games for free cash, with these incredible bonuses and offerings further adding to the influx of players onto these platforms. Another key reason behind this was the fact that land based establishments were closed, which will have added additional numbers moving online. That backed up by the additional online advertisements by providers, in what was a great opportunity for these establishments.
Gaming is Only Getting Bigger and Better
It has also been a similar story across other areas of the gaming market, with consoles, PC and mobile gaming also seeing a huge rise in players. The overall global gaming market was valued at just over 151 billion in 2019 and is expected to nearly double to around 260 billion by 2025. That further backing up, what is now one of the fastest growing industries in the world. The lockdowns further added to this, as gaming remains one of the most popular forms of entertainment. This was further backed with records being broken on the different gaming streaming platforms. That covers the likes of YouTube Gaming and of course Twitch. The latter is continued to rise in popularity and is also now amazingly the 26th most popular website on the internet. Twitch has seen a remarkable rise throughout lockdowns, with the streaming platforms seeing a 24% increase in overall viewership.
These are all examples of how some areas of the entertainment business having been positively affected, despite the current situation. It will now be interesting to see if this continues, as we see further lockdowns lifted and normality returning.