National Streaming Day
{{Short description|Unofficial holiday for streaming media}}
{{Infobox holiday
|holiday_name = National Streaming Day
|image =
|caption =
|image_size =
|duration = 1 day
|frequency = annual
|observedby = International
|date = May 20
|celebrations = Streaming media
|type = Cultural
|significance = A day celebrating streaming services and promotional offers
|relatedto = Roku, Disney+, ESPN+, Streaming media
|nickname =
}}
National Streaming Day is an unofficial holiday occurring on May 20, intended to celebrate streaming media. It was established in 2014 by Roku. In recent years, some streaming services have used the holiday to offer streaming promotions or discounted products.
Origins
National Streaming Day was started by the streaming platform Roku, initially to celebrate the anniversary of their first streaming device launch, The Netflix Player, on May 20, 2008. The first holiday was celebrated on May 20, 2014.{{cite web |title=National Streaming Day means free shows and price cuts for Roku |url=https://usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2018/05/18/roku-marks-its-national-streaming-day-free-showtime-fox-shows/624739002/ |publisher=USA Today |date=May 18, 2018}} It began as a celebration of streaming, with users of streaming platforms "encouraged to stream at least 60 minutes of their favorite entertainment today and share their selection using hashtag."{{cite web |title=Roku Establishes National Streaming Day |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140520005674/en/Roku-Establishes-National-Streaming-Day |publisher=BusinessWire |date=May 20, 2014}}
More recently, the holiday began to see streaming services make announcements of upcoming content and/or releases. Roku often offers discounts on their devices, such as Roku Streaming Stick+ and Roku Ultra. They also offered free access to normally exclusive content that would require payment or subscription.{{cite web |last1=Katzmaier |first1=David |title=Roku discounts players, offers free TV shows, movies with ads |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/roku-discounts-players-offers-new-free-tv-shows-with-ads/ |publisher=CNET |date=May 14, 2018}} This was following a partnership with Showtime to offer some of their exclusive content for free on May 20.{{cite web |last1=Haskoor |first1=Michael |title=Roku Channel Partners With Showtime, Others To Offer Free Content For National Streaming Day |url=https://decider.com/2018/05/19/roku-channel-partners-with-showtime-others-to-offer-free-content-for-national-streaming-day/ |publisher=New York Post |date=May 19, 2018}}{{cite web |last1=Roettgers |first1=Janko |title=Roku Adds Full Seasons of Shows From Showtime, Fox and Epix to Roku Channel |url=https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/roku-channel-showtime-epix-fox-1202809319/ |publisher=Variety |date=May 14, 2018}}
On National Streaming Day 2020, Disney+, ESPN+ and Roku announced a collaboration to release exclusive news and series sneak peeks.{{cite web |title=Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ Team Up for National Streaming Day Celebration |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Disney-Hulu-and-ESPN-Team-Up-for-National-Streaming-Day-Celebration-20200520 |publisher=Broadway World |date=May 20, 2020}}
Announcements
On National Streaming Day 2020, Disney announced the release of Muppets Now, an unscripted Muppets show to air on Disney+.{{cite web |last1=Shaffer |first1=Claire |title=Disney Plus Shares Trailer for First-Ever Unscripted Muppets Series |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-news/muppets-now-disney-plus-trailer-1019974/ |publisher=Rolling Stone |date=June 24, 2020}} It also used the unofficial holiday to announce a monthly bundle deal where the three streaming services were available for $12.99 a month.{{cite web |title=Disney's 'National Streaming Day' Deal Gets You Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ for $12.99 |url=https://www.thrillist.com/shopping/nation/how-to-get-disney-bundle-with-hulu-espn-affordable-streaming-package |publisher=Thrillist |date=May 5, 2020}} Disney used May 20, 2020, to also announce the release of new content, the film Artemis Fowl.{{cite web |title=Check out a special look at 'Artemis Fowl' on Disney+ |url=https://6abc.com/artemis-fowl-movie-books-disney-plus-movies/6198978/ |publisher=ABC News |date=May 20, 2020}} During the same year, ESPN used National Streaming Day to announce the return of Peyton's Places for a second season.{{cite web |title='Peyton's Places' to return to ESPN+ for 2nd season |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/29199892/peyton-places-return-espn+-2nd-season |publisher=ESPN |date=May 20, 2020}}
In 2021, Roku announced the release of their new Roku Originals on National Streaming Day.{{cite web |title=Roku to Launch Rebranded Quibi Originals This Month |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/roku-quibi-originals-launch-may-20-1234952240/ |publisher=Hollywood Reporter |date=May 13, 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Cooper |first1=Daniel |title=Roku will release 30 ex-Quibi 'Originals' on May 20th |date=13 May 2021 |url=https://www.engadget.com/roku-originals-quibi-may-20th-streaming-day-130016440.html?guccounter=1 |publisher=Engadget}}{{cite web |last1=Spangler |first1=Todd |title=Roku Set to Release 30 Quibi Shows for Free |url=https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/roku-quibi-shows-streaming-free-1234972153/ |publisher=Variety |date=May 13, 2021}}{{Relevance inline|date=June 2024}}