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FOMO at the Heart of Entertainment Consumers and Producers Needing to Go Live

Source: Pixabay

The internet has connected us to the rest of the world beyond what was ever thought possible just a couple of decades ago. It has evolved from an information-sharing center into a platform for just about everything, especially when it comes to entertainment.

While a lot of entertainment will be consumed away from a web browser, the online world makes it so that things have to be watched or used as soon as they are released or live. Not only do outlets help companies to whip-up hype for their upcoming products, but in order to appeal to entertainment fans, other outlets will release information about those products as soon as they are out.

The cultural fear of missing out is a powerful tool, inflamed by a spoiler-ridden internet and the need to consume entertainment as soon as possible. Going live or seeing things immediately has not only become all-but a necessity for potential customers, but it is also expected of those offering means of entertainment.

Video gaming industry is driven by live streaming

While unit sales are still used, they are becoming increasingly difficult to rely upon due to digital sales and the rise of live service creations relying on continued consumption. So, many analysts have turned to the numbers provided by live-streaming platforms.

The biggest of all streaming platforms is Twitch, with millions tuning in every single day to watch streamers play on games live. It’s a concept that still baffles some people – why not just play the game yourself – but it has given rise to the near-$1 billion eSports industry, helping to make video gaming into a spectator sport.

Many video game companies are all about chasing trends, as seen by Electronic Arts publishing Apex Legends after the success of Fortnite. Now, those game companies are crafting games with the viewership in mind, trying to create titles that are entertaining to watch and can create a competitive scene as they want a piece of the epic eSports pie.

The need to make predictions there and then in sports

The viewing of sports is still primarily done through the television, often via a cable or satellite television company, but the iGaming aspects of sports are increasingly going live over the internet.

Before the internet took hold, people all over the world would place bets of major sporting events and then wait to see how the contest would unfold to see if their predictions were correct. Now, knowing the capability of the internet to deliver live streaming, statistics, and odds, people don’t want to miss out on their hunch and require the chance to make predictions live, which sports betting now provides.

Across almost all sports and competitions from around the world, anyone can bet in-play to make the most of a change in momentum or a hunch that a major event is about to occur. It helps to add another level of immersion to the contest for many and has become one of the most popular ways to bet.

Shows must be watched at launch

Before the internet became so good at knowing what we like and just after we became able to record television shows, you could afford to miss a show for a day or two. You’d only have to tell your friends that you had to miss it and that you’d discuss it the next.

Nowadays, if you miss a show, you can bet that someone, somewhere on the internet, will reveal hints or complete spoilers as to what’s to come. It’s because Google and social media direct relevant articles to you as well as big outlets wanting to capitalize on the current buzz of the show. It’s not just limited to television, though, with popular shows on streaming platforms being given a similar if not a greater deal of attention by the online media.

You just have to look at the immensely popular Disney+ show The Mandalorian. It’s released weekly-ish, but if you don’t stream it live the hour it comes out, you’re bound to be hit with spoilers online. Anyone who hasn’t seen the show yet will have undoubtedly been mobbed by images of the big surprise at the end of the first episode if they have any ‘Star Wars’ in their search history.

Nowadays, going live drives gaming is required in iGaming, and is demanded of consumers when it comes to shows and often movies as well.

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