Due to the growth in streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and many more, television is now more global than ever. With more exciting content to watch from the comfort of our homes than ever before and on high-end televisions like QLED TVs, it’s never been easier to watch content from other cultures and countries.
Foreign Films
Foreign films have always been shown in UK cinemas, and they would often pop up on television screens after a certain period of time. However, since the invention and growth of streaming services, it’s now easier than ever to access this type of content.
Take Netflix, for example. Their largest-ever series is Squid Game, which has been viewed more than 1.65 billion hours by their subscribers. This South Korean survival horror show took the world by storm in late 2021, with English speakers making use of the subtitles and dubbed-over speech. More recently, All Quiet on the Western Front hit TV screens around the world. This German film about the first World War is another great foreign success, proving again the power that streaming services have in regard to the globalization of television.
Sport on Television
Probably the most successful way television and globalization have worked hand-in-hand is with sports. UK viewers can easily watch American sports overnight and vice-versa. Also, with Sky TV, BT Sport, and other companies purchasing rights to football from other countries around Europe and the world, UK viewers can easily watch foreign sports from the comfort of their own homes.
So, as you can see, globalization is not just centered around television series and movies because sports are a major part of the TV schedule. Take the Super Bowl in 2021, for example. Around 1.3 million viewers from the UK tuned into BBC to watch the famous sporting finale that did not kick off until 11.30 at night. In total, across all channels that showed the game, around 4.4 million viewers watched from the UK as the match entered the early hours of the morning.
