## Step 2 - Reading

Streaming services

You are going to read a text about how streaming services like Netflix and Spotify work.
Je gaat een tekst lezen over hoe streamingdiensten zoals Netflix en Spotify werken.

- Work together with three or four classmates and do exercise 1.
  Werk samen met drie of vier klasgenoten en doe oefening 1.
- Read the text and do exercise 2.
  Lees de tekst en maak oefening 2.

##### Oefening 1

Discuss the following questions in your group in English:
Bespreek de volgende vragen in je groepje in het Engels:

- Do you use streaming services? Which ones?
  Gebruik jij streamingdiensten? Welke?
- Which streaming service do you like best? Why?
  Welke streamingdienst is jouw favoriet? Waarom?
- Do you still watch live television? Why (not)?
  Kijk je nog steeds live televisie? Waarom (niet)?

Intro to Streaming Services Streaming services are online platforms that provide multimedia content, like TV shows, movies, music, or audiobooks. Additionally, the content must be streamed to the user without them having to download any files or tools to play the piece of media. Everything should be done through the app or the website. Think of it as TV or radio. These age-old platforms provide a similar service of playing certain types of content without the user having to wait for the whole thing to “download” before watching a TV show or listening to a song. But, the most significant difference is that you can’t choose what you’re going to watch or listen to on either TV or radio. Someone else has already decided, and your only option is to switch to a different channel. A streaming media service offers the user on-demand access to its library. Instead of sitting in front of the screen, waiting for the next episode of the TV show to start, you can just press play and continue watching. That is what separates streaming services from live television, especially since you don’t have to suffer through the never-ending commercial blocks. How do streaming services work, then? The platforms hold all the files on their servers. Once a user chooses what they want to watch or listen to, the service sends out a copy of the requested media by splitting it into packets and delivering it through the app. The app then decodes the packets and reproduces the content in real-time. This is called encoding and is measured in bits per second (bps). Adapted from https://kommandotech.com/guides/what-is-a-streaming-service/