Over the past few years, video on-demand services have experienced explosive growth, and within the last year, thanks to the pandemic, that growth was further amplified. However, with the ready access to content of our choosing, are we losing our values, attitude and culture in the process?
For those who can afford it, accessing YouTube and Netflix have become the norm on many smartphones and in many Caribbean households. Without a doubt, on-demand video streaming has transformed how we consume content, which is available as and when wanted, and typically, at an attractive price, or even free.
However, the uptick in, or perhaps more appropriately dominance of, video streaming services, has been signalling the demise in subscription TV services. Recently, it was reported in The Bahamas that local subscription TV provider, Cable Bahamas, had applied to the regulator to restructure its packages, as
…an increasing number of its subscribers prefer to stream television services to watch content instead of watching the traditional TV services it offers, contributing to a reduction in subscriptions and viewing hours
(Source: Eyewitness News)
Although other subscriber TV providers across the Caribbean region might not yet be at a point where they need to restructure their services, in order to ensure that they are able to earn a meaningful return of their investment, it is likely that virtually all of them have been experiencing a decline in viewership and subscriptions. Depending on the country, free-to-air broadcast services may still be available, but service quality may be poor and unreliable; so subscription TV take-up may be high. However, households may no longer need a 100-plus channel package, but rather, just the basic package that includes the popular local channels.
In 2016, we published an article, With VoD on the scene, is cable TV on its way out?, in which we briefly outlined some of the benefits of video-on demand. However, and although there are benefits to video on demand, increasingly, the content we are consuming is also changing. Hence, outside of the challenges subscriber TV providers are experiencing, there appears on be a bigger issue that is deserving of attention: the implications for Caribbean culture and how we see ourselves in the world. Below are some initial thoughts and concerns.
No love for artists and creatives in the region
To be clear, the region is awash with artists and talent, but support for creative and artistic endeavours is limited, at best. Producing work, be it a book or a short film, for example, is not only expensive for the creator, as there are very few funding options available, but distribution of the final product can also be fraught with numerous hurdles. As a result, most artists are unable to realise a return on the investment (to produce their work), and fewer are able to eke out a decent living solely from their artistic works.
We may not value our own stories
A frequent observation that has been made, particularly by those in (digital) media, is that we, in the Caribbean, are not telling our stories enough. Nerissa Golden, from Montserrat, who has been on our Podcast a few times, is a strong advocate for us telling our stories, the uniqueness of those stories, and their economic potential. These stories can be drawn not only from our history and heritage, but also our culture, along with our present day exploration of a broad range of disciplines.
Across the Caribbean, and to varying degrees, countries have been able to foster unique brands that have global appeal. However, we do not appear to be leveraging the unique aspects of our culture and our societies, especially as we live in a time, when thanks to the Internet, geographic borders have collapsed and we can access international markets more efficiently – and with greater immediacy – than we could in the past.
Caribbean-based content is under-represented online
With the upsurge in online content creators, especially on social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, and on YouTube, it is could be assumed that there is a lot Caribbean-based content online. However, content that depicts or otherwise focuses onone or more Caribbean country, or the region as whole – Caribbean-based content – may not be plentiful as one thinks.
To a considerable degree, the individuals who are posting content online, such as on blogs, in addition to video, are being guided by their own needs and imperatives. They might be posting parts of their lives for family or friends, and/or they are hoping to generate some income from the content they upload. Although in some instances this content may be considered Caribbean-based, that may not always be the case, as creators may not be have such a specific or clearly defined intention about the content they develop and make public.
Viewership and revenue generation imperatives
It is also important to highlight the growing influencer culture, and the number of people who are hoping to leverage social media as a livelihood. To be fair, individuals who have large followings online can engage in lucrative arrangements with advertisers and sponsors. However, the influencer pool is expanding exponentially, with newcomers and seasoned influencers actively trying to grow their subscriber base.
For Caribbean influencers, and those aspiring to be influencers, there may be a greater focus on creating content that has wider appeal – than perhaps just for a Caribbean audience. The number of views and the amount of engagement are key metrics by which social media success are measured, which in turn is likely to affect the content creation decisions that are being made.
We do not own much of the Caribbean-based content that has been produced
In a different vein, it is sobering to consider that much of the Caribbean-based content that has been produced is not owned by the region, and neither does it reside within the region. Traditionally, documents on Caribbean history are in libraries, museums and archives in Europe – thanks to our colonial history. Further, there are organisations, such as the National Geographic Society, which over the last 40-plus years, have documented various aspects of Caribbean life and Caribbean culture. However, we may not necessarily know how much material has been captured on the region, nor if (or how) we might be able to access it.
Have US media and culture usurped our own?
Finally, we ought to acknowledge that much of the content – movies, film and even news – that we consume in the region is from North America, especially the United States (US). Although this content is entertaining and can be informative, it tends to predominate in our viewing habits. Moreover, and in some quarters, it could be argued that locally-produced content has been marginalised, thanks to the ready availability of US content through subscriber TV, and now online.
For those who think the concern that US media and culture are usurping our own altitudes, values and culture is an exaggeration, it is true that we might not yet have been fully overtaken by US media, but we are already on that slippery slope. We all know people who live in the Caribbean who are (and have been) invested in US politics, for example, and know about all of the latest happenings there that would be the subject of watercooler conversations in the US; but can the same be said for things that are happening in our own backyards?
In summary, we cannot blame video-on-demand or online streaming services for the potential and growing loss of Caribbean culture. To a considerable degree, the seeds were planted with subscriber TV service, which preceded online streaming. However, with online streaming, we, as consumers, are fully in control of the content we choose to watch, which in turn can influence the content that is created and released. Hence, in the first instance, we ought to be more aware of the impact of our viewing choices, not just on us and our families, but also its trickle-on effect on content creators, and the stories that get told.
Image credit: Tumisu (Pixabay)
