Streaming Services, The Answer to Diversity?

Fatherly

There is no doubt that the relationship we, as consumers, have with television has changed drastically over the past few years. An explosive rise in popularity of streaming platforms has opened up a world of seemingly unlimited content to be consumed at our convenience. No longer are we anxious about getting home in time, to catch our favorite show. Gone are the days of settling for content we’re barely invested in, purely for the sake of entertainment. Beyond accessibility, streaming services have also opened more doors for people of color, both as consumers and as people in entertainment.

Back when the broadcast model was prevalent, and viewership ratings were the determinant of success, shows were limited to producing broad-based content meant to appeal to a wide audience. That left minorities with little to no room for having content catered towards them.

Streaming platforms first emerged in the mid to late 2000s, with the launch of YouTube in 2005, the expansion of Netflix—once an online DVD rental and sale website—in 2007, and the launch of Hulu in 2008. Its rapid growth made way for a new type of consumption, one which catered to the general populace’s diminishing attention spans. The act of binging shows became common practice and, with hundreds of shows available within a few clicks, consumers are able to afford to be picky. Naturally, this called for shows to experiment with new types of content that cater more to niche and minority groups. For people of color, that meant more content made for them.    

The 2010s saw a rise in diversity on screen. The decade was marked by notable events such as the #OscarsSoWhite and the #MeToo movements that forced the television industry to take a look at the problems within. Demand for inclusion and diversity seemed heightened by voices that utilized social media to speak out. TV watchers were beginning to see an increase in shows that addressed race and culture like Black-ish and Fresh off the Boat, along with shows that starred a person of color as their lead such as The Mindy Project and Master of None. Many of these shows have found a home in one of the major streaming sites, some exclusive to the individual platforms. Netflix, as a network, has been known for its commitment to diversity, going beyond greenlighting shows and as far as to produce their own original content that caters to this need.

Master of None, staring Aziz Ansari, was released for Netflix in 2015 and featured a diverse cast.

This trend has allowed for representation to be addressed. A recent report by Deadline shows that young Americans are also beginning to see their lives and identities reflected more and more in TV and film. But it also reflects an increasing demand for even more diverse content.

The industry’s progress on diversity might not be motivated solely by good intentions, however. The growing demand for diversity simply means that there is a growing market for the niche.

An article in USA Today delves into the biggest motivation behind the shift towards representation: money. “People have begun to recognize how much money they can make by targeting underserved audiences,” says Courtney A. Kemp, the creator and executive producer of Power. Gary Levin, “It reflects demographic shifts, and TV executives’ need to chase viewers as Hollywood faces radical shifts in how and where to find their entertainment,” Gary Levin wrote.

This is reflected in the fact that despite the visible increase in diversity when it comes to casting, many of the people who run the show behind the scenes are still predominantly white. UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report showed that in 2019, people of color claimed only a 15.1% share of the directors from that year’s top films and that only 1.5 out of 10 film directors are people of color. This is a slight improvement from 2011’s 12.2% but not nearly enough to be considered as radical of a change as with the diversity we see on screen. Statistics for writers and producers fall in the same range.

Regardless, this demand to diversify the industry is not diminishing and streaming services have paved a path that caters to consumer needs. Not only are we exposed to new shows and films but to all the old classics we might have missed such Fresh Prince of Bel Air or Living Single.

The question becomes, however, is what we have access to enough? For decades, the television and film industry has neglected the representation of minorities, leaving plenty of room to catch up. Often times as we consume television and see other races, sexuality, and religion represented, we begin to think “What’s next?” We begin to want to see more aspects of ourselves represented and calls for more content to be made, and platforms such as Netflix and Hulu are answering to that.