this post was submitted on 07 Jun 2026
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YouTube started in 2005, but was not really a "streaming service", it hosted random internet posted videos. The concept of engaging with the big content rights holders wasn't remotely in sight back then.
Hulu came out a year after Netflix started streaming, by about a year. Hulu was inspired by Netflix's move to have actual traditional media content as a streaming service instead of ad-hoc video uploads like youtube.
RealPlayer offered technology for websites to provide videos, they themselves I don't recall being a streaming platform in and of itself.
Whatever one may say about Netflix, they were right there in the beginning with streaming traditional, professional media content. Yes, video playback over the internet wasn't new, but that's a technical detail that enables, but is not the core of the "streaming service" business model.