With so many streaming service options, cable, movie theatres, and conventional ways of consuming content is becoming less popular.

According to Grand View Research, since the start of the COVID-19, subscriptions and viewership has increased across all major services, like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and Disney+.

The streaming industry is expected to be worth $330 billion by 2030, according to Cloud Wards.

On the contrary,  according to Cloud Wards, in 2021,  67% of U.S. households had a paid TV subscription compared to a staggering 85% that had a video streaming service.

According to Forbes, movie ticket sales in the US were down 80% in 2020.

With so many new streaming options, cord-cutting has more become popular and the future of movie theatres has become uncertain.

Joey Randazzo, Audio/Visual Technical Manager at Franklin and Marshall College, said although streaming services are taking the world by storm, movie theatres and cable infrastructure will always have it's place.

"We're all connected to the cable company and that infrastructure that's in place now is really necessary if we're going to provide each of our homes access to high speed internet," Randazzo said. "Without it there wouldn't be streaming, not the way we know it."

Randazzo said he decided to back out of his plan to buy the Marietta Theatre because there are more fun ways to throw away his money. However, he still believes movie theatres will continue to be successful and necessary.

"Maybe you don't have to pay $100 to take your family out to see Downton Abbey the movie, wait a few weeks and see it at home," Randazzo said. "But the next big Marvel free for all or Top Gun 2, it's a treat and you definitely should experience some of that spectacle on the big screen."

Randazzo said with so many options to consume content, we are getting disconnected from the world and the answer isn't inside the box but it's in the real world.

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