Video on demand ( VOD ) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typical static broadcasting schedule, which was popular under traditional broadcast programming , instead involving newer modes of content consumption that have risen as Internet and IPTV technologies have become prominent, and culminated in the arrival of VOD and over-the-top (OTT) media services on televisions and personal computers .
135-450: Facebook Watch (currently rebranding to Facebook Video ) is a video on demand service operated by American company Meta Platforms (previously named Facebook, Inc.). The company announced the service in August 2017 and it was available to all U.S. users that month. Facebook Watch's original video content is produced for the company by others, who earn 55% of advertising revenue (Facebook keeps
270-494: A DEC Alpha –based computer for its VOD servers, allowing it to support more than a million users. By 1994 the Oracle scalable VOD system used massively parallel processors to support from 500 to 30,000 users. The SGI system supported 4,000 users. The servers connected to networks of increasing size to eventually support video stream delivery to entire cities. In the UK, from September 1994,
405-455: A Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Leading Actress in a Drama Series. In 1996, she originally auditioned for the role of Cordelia. After watching her audition, Whedon asked her to come back in and audition for the lead role of Buffy. A talent agent spotted David Boreanaz on the sidewalk walking his dog. He immediately contacted casting director Marcia Shulman, saying that he had found Angel. Anthony Stewart Head had already led
540-526: A Romani woman who was sent to maintain Angel's curse. Kendra is murdered by Drusilla. To avert an apocalypse, Buffy is forced to banish Angel to a hell dimension just moments after Willow has restored his soul. The ordeal leaves Buffy emotionally shattered, and she leaves Sunnydale. After attempting to start a new life in Los Angeles, Buffy returns to town in season three . Angel has been mysteriously released from
675-563: A subscription model that requires users to pay a monthly fee for access to a selection of movies, television shows, and original series. In contrast, YouTube , another Internet-based VOD system, uses an advertising-funded model in which users can access most of its video content free of charge but must pay a subscription fee for premium content. Some airlines offer VOD services as in-flight entertainment to passengers through video screens embedded in seats or externally provided portable media players. Downloading and streaming VOD systems provide
810-575: A subscription business model in which subscribers are charged a regular fee to access unlimited programs. Examples of these services include Netflix , Hulu , Amazon Prime Video , Max , Disney+ , Peacock , Paramount+ , Apple TV+ , Disney+ Hotstar , iQIYI , Star+ , Hayu , BET+ , Discovery+ , Crunchyroll , SonyLIV , ZEE5 , and GulliMax . Near video on demand (NVOD) is a pay-per-view consumer video technique used by multi-channel broadcasters using high-bandwidth distribution mechanisms such as satellite and cable television. Multiple copies of
945-489: A villain-of-the-week conflict revolving around Buffy and her friends as they struggle to balance the fight against supernatural evils with their complicated social lives. A typical episode contains one or more villains , or supernatural phenomena, that are thwarted or defeated by the end of the episode. Though elements and relationships are explored and ongoing subplots are included, the show focuses primarily on Buffy and her role as an archetypal heroine . Gellar described
1080-531: A 20-year deal to stream movies on demand over Enron's fiber-optic network. The heavily promoted deal failed, with Enron's share prices dropping following the announcement. In 1998, Kingston Communications became the first UK company to launch a fully commercial VOD service and the first to integrate broadcast television and Internet access through a single set-top box using IP delivery over ADSL. By 2001, Kingston Interactive TV had attracted 15,000 subscribers. After several trials, Home Choice followed in 1999 but
1215-713: A DVR rented or purchased from the provider, or to a PC or to a portable device for deferred viewing. Streaming media has emerged as an increasingly popular medium of VOD provision over downloading, including BitTorrent . Desktop client applications such as the Apple iTunes online content store and Smart TV apps such as Amazon Prime Video allow temporary rentals and purchases of video entertainment content. Other Internet-based VOD systems provide users with access to bundles of video entertainment content rather than individual movies and shows. The most common of these systems, Netflix , Hulu , Disney+ , Peacock , Max and Paramount+ , use
1350-619: A VOD service formed a major part of the Cambridge Digital Interactive Television Trial. This provided video and data to 250 homes and several schools connected to the Cambridge Cable network, later part of NTL, now Virgin Media . The MPEG-1 encoded video was streamed over an ATM network from an ICL media server to set-top boxes designed by Acorn Online Media. The trial commenced at a speed of 2 Mbit/s to
1485-564: A budget of roughly $ 10,000-$ 40,000 per episode, though renewal contracts have placed the budget in the $ 50,000-$ 70,000 range. Long-form TV-length series have budgets between $ 250,000 to over $ 1 million. The Wall Street Journal reported in September 2017 that the company was willing to spend up to $ 1 billion on original video content through 2018. Facebook keeps 45% of ad-break revenue for content shown on Facebook Watch, while its content-producing partners receive 55% of ad revenue. In January 2017,
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#17328729521811620-468: A coma. At the end of the season, after the mayor becomes a huge snake-like demon, Buffy, Angel, the Scooby Gang and the entire graduating class destroy him by blowing up Sunnydale High. At the end of the season, Angel and Cordelia leave the series to star in the spin-off series, Angel . Season four sees Buffy and Willow enroll at UC Sunnydale, while Xander joins the workforce and begins dating Anya ,
1755-498: A copper telephone cable to provide a VOD service of acceptable quality as the required bandwidth of a digital television signal is around 200 Mbps , which is 2,000 times greater than the bandwidth of a speech signal over a copper telephone wire. VOD services were only made possible as a result of two major technological developments: MPEG ( motion-compensated DCT ) video compression and asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) data transmission. Plans such as those of
1890-491: A documentary film titled The Rise of Artist Dubose, a documentary about the life and career of American musician A Boogie wit da Hoodie . Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak estimates that "Facebook Watch" can bring in $ 565 million in revenue to Facebook by the end of 2018. Jefferies analyst Brent Thill has predicted that the service has the potential to earn $ 12 billion in revenue by 2022. Video on demand Television VOD systems can stream content, either through
2025-575: A fast-food job to support herself and Dawn and develops a secret, mutually abusive sexual relationship with Spike. Dawn suffers from kleptomania and feelings of alienation, Xander leaves Anya at the altar (after which she once again becomes a vengeance demon), and Willow becomes addicted to magic, causing Tara to temporarily leave her. They also begin to deal with the Trio , a group of nerds led by Warren Mears who use their proficiency in technology and magic to attempt to kill Buffy and take over Sunnydale. Warren
2160-547: A few months. PVOD made a return during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting global closures of cinemas . Certain films that had already been released including The Invisible Man were quickly also released on VOD platforms for a higher rental price than usual, while other films including Trolls World Tour were released simultaneously on PVOD and in drive-in theaters , or in some cases directly to PVOD only. In most cases, these PVOD releases are offered through most of
2295-464: A former vengeance demon. Spike returns as a series regular and is abducted by The Initiative, a top-secret military installation based beneath the UC Sunnydale campus. They implant a microchip in his head that prevents him from harming humans. Every time he tries to harm a human, he suffers excruciating pain. Upon learning that he can still harm other demons, he joins in with the Scooby Gang, purely for
2430-456: A legal peer-to-peer approach based on Kontiki technology to provide very-high-capacity multi-point downloads of the video content. Instead of the video content all being downloaded from Sky's servers, the content comes from multiple users of the system who have already downloaded the content. Other UK television broadcasters implemented their own versions of the same technology, such as Channel 4 's 4oD (4 on Demand, now known as All 4 ) which
2565-565: A military demon-hunting operation. Spike, still implanted with his chip from The Initiative, realizes he is in love with Buffy and increasingly helps the Scoobies in their fight. Buffy's mother Joyce dies of a brain aneurysm , while at the end of the season, Xander proposes to Anya. Glory finally discovers that Dawn is the key and kidnaps her, using Dawn's blood to open a portal to the Hell dimension. To save Dawn, Buffy sacrifices her own life by diving into
2700-464: A mix of original , indie , rock, and pop music. The composers spent around seven days scoring between fourteen and thirty minutes of music for each episode. Christophe Beck revealed that the Buffy composers used computers and synthesizers and were limited to recording one or two "real" samples. Despite this, their goal was to produce "dramatic" orchestration that would stand up to film scores. Alongside
2835-420: A more fleshed-out story. A whiteboard marked their progress by mapping brief descriptions of each scene. Once breaking was complete, the credited author wrote an outline for the episode, which was checked by Whedon or Noxon. The writer then wrote a full script, which went through a series of drafts, and finally a quick rewrite from the showrunner. The final article was used as the shooting script. Buffy features
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#17328729521812970-470: A normal life. He goes on to make amends for his sins and to search for redemption in his own spin-off television series, Angel . He makes several guest appearances in the remaining seasons, and is present in Buffy ' s final episode. At Sunnydale High, Buffy meets several other students besides Willow and Xander willing to join her fight for good, an informal group eventually tagged the "Scooby Gang" or "Scoobies". Cordelia Chase ( Charisma Carpenter ),
3105-407: A parent discovering her child is gay, including denial, suggesting that she tries "not being a Slayer", before ultimately kicking Buffy out of the house. Katie Holmes and Selma Blair were in the running for the role of Buffy in 1996. Natasha Lyonne was also offered the role but declined it due to not wanting to commit to a series at the age of 16. Other actresses who originally auditioned for
3240-725: A piece of content once purchased via the Internet; and download to rent (DTR), by which customers can access the content for a limited time upon renting. Examples of TVOD services include the Apple iTunes Store and the Google Play Store, as well as VOD rental services offered through multichannel television (i.e., cable or satellite) providers. Premium video on demand (PVOD) is a version of TVOD which allows customers to access video-on-demand content several weeks or months earlier than their customary TVOD or home video availability – often feature films made available alongside, or in place of,
3375-687: A previous Slayer, Nikki Wood . Nikki's son, Robin Wood ( D. B. Woodside ), joins the group in the final season. Tara Maclay ( Amber Benson ) is a fellow member of Willow's Wicca group during season four, and their friendship evolves into a romantic relationship. Buffy becomes involved personally and professionally with Riley Finn ( Marc Blucas ), a military operative in "the Initiative", which hunts demons using science and technology. The final season sees geeky wannabe-villain Andrew Wells ( Tom Lenk ) side with
3510-415: A programme are broadcast at short time intervals (typically staggered on a schedule of every 10–20 minutes) on linear channels providing convenience for viewers, who can watch the programme without needing to tune in at the only scheduled point in time. A viewer may only have to wait a few minutes before the next time a movie will be programmed. This form is bandwidth-intensive, reduces the number of channels
3645-605: A prolific acting and singing career but remained best known in the United States for a series of twelve coffee commercials with Sharon Maughan for Taster's Choice instant coffee . He accepted the role of Rupert Giles . Nicholas Brendon , unlike other Buffy regulars, had little acting experience, instead working various jobs—including production assistant , plumber's assistant, veterinary janitor, food delivery, script delivery, day care counselor, and waiter—before breaking into acting and overcoming his stutter . He landed
3780-638: A provider can offer, and is generally provided by large operators with a great deal of redundant capacity. This concept has been reduced in popularity as video on demand is implemented, along with providers often wanting to provide the maximum throughput for their broadband services possible. Only the satellite services DirecTV and Dish Network continue to provide NVOD services, as they do not offer broadband and much of their rural customer base only has access to slower dial-up and non- 5G wireless and satellite internet options which cannot stream films or have onerous data caps (and where possible, AT&T
3915-414: A set-top box with a one-terabyte hard drive that could be used for video-on-demand services previously offered through cable television and broadband. A movie, for example, could be sent out once using a broadcast signal rather than numerous times over cable or fiber-optic lines, and this would not involve the expense of adding many miles of lines. Sezmi planned to lease part of the broadcast spectrum to offer
4050-414: A similar strategy as it builds out its original content experience". Two weeks after Ad Age ' s report, Facebook updated its blog to note that the pre-roll advertising format would begin testing in 2018, and that there were going to be changes to mid-roll ads; specifically, they cannot appear until a minute into a video, and are only available for videos that run for at least three minutes, as opposed to
4185-433: A subscription service that National Association of Broadcasters President Gordon H. Smith said would provide a superior picture to that of cable or satellite at a lower cost. Developing VOD requires extensive negotiations to identify a financial model that would serve both content creators and cable providers while providing desirable content for viewers at an acceptable price point. Key factors identified for determining
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4320-856: A subscription to the Disney+ streaming service, but they then retain access as long as they maintain their subscription (for Mulan , this was effectively a 90-day rental, as the film became available to all Disney+ subscribers at no extra charge in December). It has been reported that the pandemic had contributed to a transformation in movie distribution in favor of PVOD over traditional movie houses, as studios were able to realize 80% of revenue through PVOD versus 50% of traditional theater box office receipts. Theater owners including AMC and Cinemark, as well as suppliers including IMAX and National CineMedia, all experienced significant drops in revenues during shutdowns related to COVID-19. Subscription VOD ( SVOD ) services use
4455-475: A system of digital video recorders to simulate the video-on-demand experience. Most of Edge Spectrum's channels, where they are on air, carry televangelism . Push video on demand is so-named because the provider "pushes" the content out to the viewer's set-top box without the viewer having requested the content. This technique is used by several broadcasters on systems that lack the connectivity and bandwidth to provide true "streaming" video on demand. Push VOD
4590-470: A traditional set-top box or through remote devices such as computers, tablets, and smartphones. VOD users may also permanently download content to a device such as a computer, digital video recorder (DVR) or, a portable media player for continued viewing. The majority of cable and telephone company –based television providers offer VOD streaming, whereby a user selects a video programme that begins to play immediately (i.e., streaming), or downloading to
4725-411: A traditional release in movie theaters – but at a much higher price point. A version of the model was tested in 2011 by American satellite TV provider DirecTV under the brand name "Home Premiere", which allowed viewers to rent select films from major studios for US$ 30 per rental as soon as 60 days after they debuted in cinemas, compared to 120 days for the regular TVOD window; this version only lasted
4860-493: A user to view content. This technology also provides an advantage for technology companies for data analysis of viewed content from consumers. By analyzing data of what is viewed most by consumers, companies can purchase more content that is aimed for an audience, and then in-turn market products that are based on what viewer profiles are of a group of consumers who viewer a specific amount of content. This data analysis will often provide researchers valuable data that includes: what
4995-672: Is a cable VOD service that also offers pay-per-view. Once the programs have been downloaded onto a user's PVR, he or she can watch, play, pause, and seek at their convenience. VOD is also common in expensive hotels. According to the European Audiovisual Observatory , 142 paying VOD services were operational in Europe at the end of 2006. The number increased to 650 by 2009. At the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada , Sezmi CEO Buno Pati and president Phil Wiser showed
5130-603: Is a device that is Internet capable. Cable media companies have combined VOD with live streaming services. The early-2020s launches of apps from cable companies (e.g., NBC 's Peacock , CBS 's Paramount+ ) are attempts to compete with Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) services because they lack live news and sports content. Streaming video servers can serve a wide community via a WAN , but responsiveness may be reduced. Download VOD services are practical in homes equipped with cable modems or DSL connections. Servers for traditional cable and telco VOD services are usually placed at
5265-428: Is a former vengeance demon called Anyanka who specialized in avenging scorned women; after losing her powers she became Xander's lover, then joined the Scoobies in season four. In Buffy's senior year at high school, she meets Faith ( Eliza Dushku ), another Slayer called forth when Slayer Kendra Young ( Bianca Lawson ) was killed by vampire Drusilla ( Juliet Landau ) in season two. Although Faith initially fights on
5400-453: Is a vampire cursed with a soul, which prevents him from feeding off living humans. Buffy befriends two schoolmates, Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg , who help her fight evil throughout the series. Buffy, her Watcher and friends later start to collectively call themselves the "Scooby Gang". Their first major threat is the Master , an ancient and especially threatening vampire, who was trapped in
5535-447: Is a werewolf. The romantic relationship between Buffy and the vampire Angel develops. But after they have sex, Angel experiences a moment of true happiness, breaking the curse that gave him his soul, thus reverting him to a sadistic killer. The evil vampire, famously known as Angelus, joins the other vampires Spike and Drusilla, and he torments Buffy and her friends. He murders multiple innocents and Giles's new girlfriend Jenny Calendar ,
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5670-435: Is also used by broadcasters that want to optimize their video streaming infrastructures by pre-loading the most popular contents to the consumers' set-top device. If the consumer requests one of these films, it is already loaded on her or his DVR. A push VOD system uses a personal video recorder (PVR) to store a selection of content, often transmitted in spare capacity overnight or all day long at low bandwidth. Users can watch
5805-573: Is known for, inspired by McIntosh's love for shows like the Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows . During the first year of the series, Whedon described the show as " My So-Called Life with The X-Files ". Alongside these series, Whedon has cited cult film Night of the Comet as a "big influence", and credited the X-Men character Kitty Pryde as a significant influence on the character of Buffy. The authors of
5940-579: Is now prioritizing their streaming service AT&T TV , which utilizes a fully immediate VOD experience, over DirecTV ). Before the rise of VOD, the cable pay-per-view provider In Demand provided up to 40 channels in 2002, with several films receiving four channels on a staggered schedule to provide the NVOD experience for viewers. As of 2018, most cable pay-per-view channels now number mainly 3–5, and are used mainly for live ring sports events (boxing and professional wrestling), comedy specials, and concerts, though
6075-608: Is revealed that Buffy's second resurrection caused instability in the slayer line which also allowed the First Evil to begin tipping the balance between good and evil. It begins by hunting down and killing inactive Potential Slayers and soon raises an army of ancient, powerful Turok-Han vampires. After the Watchers' Council is destroyed, a number of Potential Slayers (some brought by Giles) take refuge in Buffy's house. Faith returns to help fight
6210-606: Is shown to be the only competent villain of the group and, after Buffy thwarts his plans multiple times, the Trio breaks apart. Warren becomes unhinged and attacks Buffy with a gun, accidentally killing Tara in the process. This causes Willow to descend into nihilistic darkness and unleash all of her dark magical powers, killing Warren and attempting to kill his friends. Giles returns to face her in battle and infuses her with light magic, tapping into her remaining humanity. This overwhelms Willow with guilt and pain, whereupon she attempts to destroy
6345-425: Is the " Slayer ", one in a long line of young women chosen by fate to battle evil forces. This mystical calling grants her powers that dramatically increase physical strength, endurance, agility, accelerated healing, intuition, and a limited degree of precognition , usually in the form of prophetic dreams. She is known as a reluctant hero who wants to live a normal life. However, she learns to embrace her destiny as
6480-467: The "Once More, with Feeling" Soundtrack , and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Score . Buffy features a variety of monsters and supernatural creatures. Monster suits were created by John Vulich and his special effects company Optic Nerve, while blending and beauty makeup was created by makeup supervisor Todd McIntosh. McIntosh is credited with creating the iconic vampire face Buffy
6615-684: The Digital Cinema Initiative , in 2002. The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 planned to launch a joint platform provisionally called Kangaroo in 2008. This was abandoned in 2009 following complaints, which were investigated by the Competition Commission . In that same year, the assets of the now-defunct Kangaroo project were acquired by Arqiva , who used the technology to launch the SeeSaw service in February 2010. A year later, however, SeeSaw
6750-931: The Emmys , the series was nominated for the American Film Institute Award for Drama Series of the Year , Gellar was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama for her performance in the show and the series was nominated five times for Television Critics Association Awards , winning in 2003 for the Television Critics Association Heritage Award . The success of Buffy has led to hundreds of tie-in products, including novels , comics and video games . The series has received attention in fandom (including fan films ), parody , and academia , and has influenced
6885-504: The Laservision media format and featured a jukebox -like media handling system involving players served by disc carousels, with twelve such handler units capable of serving up to 6,000 customers. Other early VOD systems used tapes as the real-time source of video streams. GTE started as a trial in 1990, with AT&T providing all components. By 1992, VOD servers were supplying previously encoded digital video from disks and DRAM . In
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#17328729521817020-490: The Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus , Amazon Freevee , Popcornflix , Crackle , Tubi , Movies Anywhere , Vudu , Dailymotion , and YouTube . Walmart is adding ASVOD original programming to Vudu, and YouTube Originals will be ASVOD by 2020. Data analysis When technology companies, include SVOD apps on their devices, like phones, tablets, televisions, game systems, computers, this can remove an attitude obstruction for
7155-407: The "Scoobies". The show primarily takes place in the fictional setting of Sunnydale , a small Southern California city located on a "Hellmouth"; a portal "between this reality and the next", and a convergence point of mystical energies. Because of this, supernatural creatures and beings with magical powers, both good and evil, are drawn to Sunnydale or rise from below ground to menace the town and
7290-487: The "high school is hell" concept. Buffy Summers has just moved to Sunnydale after burning down her old school's gym and hopes to escape her Slayer duties. Her plans are complicated by Rupert Giles , her new Watcher , who reminds her of the inescapable presence of evil. Sunnydale High is built atop a Hellmouth, a portal to demon dimensions that attracts supernatural phenomena to the area. A mysterious man, Angel, warns Buffy of upcoming danger. She eventually discovers that he
7425-624: The Body Snatchers , " Out of Mind, Out of Sight " parallels The Invisible Man , and so on. Buffy episodes frequently include a deeper meaning or metaphor . Whedon explained, "We think very carefully about what we're trying to say emotionally, politically, and even philosophically while we're writing it... it really is, apart from being a pop-culture phenomenon, something that is deeply layered textually episode by episode." Academics Wilcox and Lavery provide examples of episodes dealing with real life issues portrayed as supernatural metaphors: In
7560-486: The First Evil, and the new Sunnydale High School principal, Robin Wood , also joins the cause. The Turok-Han vampires and a sinister, misogynistic preacher known as Caleb begin causing havoc for the Scoobies. As the Hellmouth becomes more active, nearly all of Sunnydale's population–humans and demons alike–flee. In the series finale, Buffy kills Caleb and Angel returns to Sunnydale with an amulet, which Buffy gives to Spike;
7695-404: The First Evil. Buffy gathers other allies throughout the series: Spike ( James Marsters ), a vampire, is an old companion of Angelus (Angel) and one of Buffy's major enemies in early seasons, although he and Buffy later become allies and lovers. At the end of season six, Spike regains his soul. Spike is known for his Billy Idol -style peroxide blond hair and his black leather coat, stolen from
7830-508: The Hellmouth and " high school as hell " as one of the primary metaphors in creating the series. Most of Buffy was shot on location in Los Angeles , California. The high school used in the first three seasons is actually Torrance High School , in Torrance, California , the same high school used for Beverly Hills, 90210 . The show was initially very dependent on location shooting, because
7965-561: The Hollywood formula of "the little blonde girl who goes into a dark alley and gets killed in every horror movie ". Whedon wanted "to subvert that idea and create someone who was a hero". He explained, "The very first mission statement of the show was the joy of female power: having it, using it, sharing it." The idea was first visited through Whedon's script for the 1992 movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer , which featured Kristy Swanson in
8100-600: The Integrated Network System, a national high-capacity fibre-optic network supporting a range of broadband services in Japan, noted in a more general 1986 publication, were interpreted as conducive to eventual VOD deployment. However, early VOD trials employed existing cable television infrastructure, notably British Telecom's video library trial, operated through the Westminster Cable Company. This trial used
8235-403: The Scoobies after initially being their captive/hostage; they regard him more as a nuisance than an ally. Buffy featured dozens of major and minor recurring characters. For example, the "Big Bad" (villain) characters were featured for at least one season (for example, Glory is a character who appeared in 12 episodes, spanning much of season five). Similarly, characters who allied themselves to
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#17328729521818370-472: The Scoobies then surround the Hellmouth, and the Potential Slayers descend into its cavern while Willow casts a spell that activates their Slayer powers. Anya dies in the fight, as do some of the new Slayers. Spike's amulet channels the power of the sun to destroy the Hellmouth and all the vampires within it, including himself. The collapse of the cavern creates a crater that swallows all of Sunnydale, while
8505-461: The Summers' lives even after she learns of Buffy's role in the supernatural world (" Becoming, Part Two "). Buffy's younger sister Dawn Summers ( Michelle Trachtenberg ) is introduced in season five (" Buffy vs. Dracula "). Angel ( David Boreanaz ), a vampire cursed with a soul, is Buffy's love interest throughout the first three seasons. He leaves Buffy after realizing he will never be able to give her
8640-644: The US, the 1982 anti-trust break-up of AT&T resulted in several smaller telephone companies nicknamed Baby Bells . Following this, the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 prohibited telephone companies from providing video services within their operating regions. In 1993, the National Communication and Information Infrastructure (NII) was proposed and passed by the US House and Senate, opening
8775-614: The Vampire Slayer Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon . The concept is based on the 1992 film , also written by Whedon, although they are separate and unrelated productions. Whedon served as executive producer and showrunner of the series under his production tag Mutant Enemy Productions . It premiered on March 10, 1997, on The WB and concluded on May 20, 2003, on UPN . The series follows Buffy Summers (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar ),
8910-569: The annual Television Critics Association 's annual summer press tour. During Facebook's allotted time, Fidji Simo , the Vice President of Product for Video, and Ricky Van Veen , the Head of Global Creative Strategy, showcased Facebook's continuing ramp-up of original programming on Facebook Watch. On August 30, 2018, Facebook Watch became available internationally to all users of the social network worldwide. For short-form videos, Facebook originally had
9045-430: The archetypal shallow cheerleader, reluctantly becomes involved. Daniel "Oz" Osbourne ( Seth Green ), a fellow student, rock guitarist and werewolf, joins the group through his relationship with Willow. Jenny Calendar ( Robia LaMorte ), Sunnydale's computer science teacher, joins the group after helping destroy a demon trapped in cyberspace during season 1; she later becomes Giles' love interest. Anya ( Emma Caulfield )
9180-455: The beginning of each episode, with the accompanying music performed by Californian rock band Nerf Herder . In the DVD commentary for the first Buffy episode , Whedon said his decision to go with Nerf Herder's theme was influenced by Hannigan, who had urged him to listen to the band's music. Janet Halfyard, in her essay "Music, Gender, and Identity in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel ", describes
9315-400: The cable head-end, serving a particular market, and cable hubs in larger markets. In the telco world, they are placed in either the central office or a newly created location called a Video Head-End Office (VHO). VOD services first appeared in the early 1990s. Until then, it was not thought possible that a television programme could be squeezed into the limited telecommunication bandwidth of
9450-402: The company announced that it would be adding "mid-roll" advertising to its videos, in which ads will appear in videos after users have watched at least 20 seconds. In December 2017, Ad Age reported that Facebook was lifting a long-time ban on "pre-roll" ads, an advertising format that shows promotional content before users start the actual video. Facebook had resisted using pre-roll ads because
9585-540: The content to other streaming services and, temporarily, make extra income like that too. In a reflection made by 2013 Netflix Chief Content Officer, Ted Sarandos , he was quoted saying, "When we launch in a territory the BitTorrent traffic drops as the Netflix traffic grows." This can be valuably interpreted as in that online piracy numbers drop the more that SVOD companies grow, which in turn means more revenue going back to
9720-546: The council. Early in the season, she meets Faith , the Slayer activated after Kendra's death. She also encounters the affable Mayor Richard Wilkins III , who secretly has plans to "ascend" (become a "pure" demon) on Sunnydale High's graduation day. Although Faith initially works well with Buffy, she becomes increasingly unstable after accidentally killing a human and forms a relationship with the paternal yet manipulative mayor. The rivalry between Buffy and Faith eventually lands Faith in
9855-449: The demon dimension but is close to insanity due to the torment he suffered there. He recovers, but he and Buffy realize that a relationship between them can never happen and Angel leaves Sunnydale at the end of the season. Giles is fired from the Watchers' Council because he has developed a "father's love" for Buffy and he is replaced by Wesley Wyndam-Pryce . Towards the end of the season, Buffy announces that she will no longer be working for
9990-456: The direction of other television series. Buffy was part of a wave of television series from the late 1990s and early 2000s that featured strong female characters , alongside Charmed , Xena: Warrior Princess , La Femme Nikita , Dark Angel , and Alias . The series, as well as its spin-off series, Angel , and extensions thereof, have been collectively termed the " Buffyverse ". Buffy Summers (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar )
10125-447: The downloaded content at the time they desire, immediately and without any buffering issues. Push VOD depends on the viewer recording content so choices can be limited. Advertising video on demand (AVOD) uses an advertising-based revenue model. This allows companies that advertise on broadcast and cable channels to reach people who watch shows using VOD. This model also allows people to watch content without paying subscription fees. Hulu
10260-434: The early 1990s. In 1996, the role of Willow Rosenberg was originally played by Riff Regan for the unaired Buffy pilot, but Hannigan auditioned when the role was being recast for the series proper. Hannigan described her approach to the character through Willow's reaction to a particular moment: Willow sadly tells Buffy that her Barbie doll was taken from her as a child. Buffy asks her if she ever got it back. Willow's line
10395-504: The economic viability of the VOD model include VOD movie buy-rates and setting Hollywood and cable operator revenue splits. Cable providers offered VOD as part of digital subscription packages, which by 2005 primarily allowed cable subscribers to only access an on-demand version of the content that was already provided in the linear traditional broadcasting distribution. These on-demand packages sometimes include extras and bonus footage in addition to
10530-602: The first few seasons, the most prominent monsters in the Buffy bestiary are vampires based on traditional myths, lore, and literary conventions. As the series continues, Buffy and her companions fight an increasing variety of demons , as well as ghosts , werewolves , zombies , and unscrupulous humans . They frequently save the world from annihilation by a combination of physical combat, magic , and detective-style investigation, and are guided by an extensive collection of ancient and mystical reference books. Season one exemplifies
10665-451: The format has a "reputation for annoying viewers" who want to get to the desired content, though the report stated that the company would nevertheless try the format. Steve Ellis, CEO of WhoSay , a social influencer marketing company, told Ad Age that " YouTube already established that people will sit through and tolerate pre-roll" and that "It's proven that they haven't sent consumers fleeing, so it makes sense that Facebook would pursue
10800-403: The friends she meets at Sunnydale High School: Willow Rosenberg ( Alyson Hannigan ) and Xander Harris ( Nicholas Brendon ). Willow is originally a wallflower who excels at academics, providing a contrast to Buffy's outgoing personality and less-than-stellar educational record. They share the social isolation that comes with being different, and especially from being exceptional young women. As
10935-456: The group and characters who attended the same institutions were sometimes featured in multiple episodes. The show is set in the fictional California town of Sunnydale, whose suburban Sunnydale High School sits on top of a " Hellmouth ", a gateway to demon realms. The Hellmouth, located beneath the school library, is a source of mystical energies as well as a nexus for a wide variety of evil creatures and supernatural phenomena. Joss Whedon cited
11070-476: The growing amount of marketing that is need to gain the attention of an audience, pinning down an exact budget for a film production can be difficult. Video on demand can have three release strategies that include: day-and-date (instantaneous release in theaters and on VOD), day-before-date (VOD before theatrical viewing), and VOD only. Production studios can make revenue on these types of releases until sales start to slow. After that, film companies can then license
11205-575: The hellmouth underground. When he escapes, Buffy defeats him and saves Sunnydale. The emotional stakes are raised in season two . Vampire couple Spike and Drusilla come to town. A new slayer, Kendra , who is activated as a result of Buffy's brief death in season one, also arrives in Sunnydale. Popular schoolmate, Cordelia Chase , who resented Buffy and her friends, joins the Scooby Gang and becomes involved with Xander. Willow learns witchcraft and becomes involved with schoolmate Daniel "Oz" Osbourne , who
11340-476: The high school set (the addition of a dining hall and commons area). A driveway area near the gated entrance to Fox Studios was transformed into a graveyard. In the third season the Sunnydale "Main Street" was constructed on the backlot, which would be a staple location for the rest of the series. When the show transitioned to college in the fourth season, the hallway sets from Sunnydale High were remodeled to appear as
11475-496: The home, subsequently increased to 25 Mbit/s. The content was provided by the BBC and Anglia Television . Although a technical success, difficulty in sourcing content was a major issue and the project closed in 1996. In 1997, Enron Corporation had entered the broadband market, constructing and purchasing thousands of miles of fiber-optic cables throughout the United States. In 2001, Enron and Blockbuster Inc. attempted to create
11610-460: The interior hallways of UC Sunnydale. Some of the exterior shots of the college Buffy attends, UC Sunnydale, were filmed at UCLA . Several episodes include shots from the Oviatt Library at CSUN . The exterior of the mansion where Angelus, Spike, and Drusilla lived was Frank Lloyd Wright 's Ennis House . Buffy is told in a serialized format, mixing complex, season-long storylines with
11745-479: The joy of fighting. Oz leaves town after realizing that he is too dangerous as a werewolf, and Willow falls in love with Tara Maclay , another witch. Buffy begins dating Riley Finn , a graduate student and US Army Ranger seconded to The Initiative. Although appearing to be a well-meaning anti-demon operation, The Initiative's sinister plans are revealed when Adam , a monster secretly built from parts of humans, demons and machinery, escapes and begins to wreak havoc on
11880-504: The large downstream bandwidth present on their cable systems to deliver movies and television shows to end-users. These viewers can typically pause, fast-forward, and rewind VOD movies due to the low latency and random-access nature of cable technology. The large distribution of a single signal makes streaming VOD impractical for most satellite television systems. Both EchoStar / Dish Network and DirecTV offer VOD programming to PVR -owning subscribers of their satellite TV service. In Demand
12015-434: The latest in a succession of young women known as "Vampire Slayers ". Slayers are chosen by fate to battle against vampires, demons and other forces of darkness. Buffy wants to live a normal life, but learns to embrace her destiny as the series progresses. Like previous Slayers, she is aided by a Watcher , who guides, teaches and trains her. Unlike her predecessors, Buffy surrounds herself with loyal friends who become known as
12150-705: The latter two sources are declining due to streaming services offering much more lucrative performance contracts to performers, and several ring sports organisations (mainly UFC and WWE ) now prefer direct marketing of their product via streaming services such as ESPN+ , the WWE Network , and the apps of Fox Sports over pay-TV providers which require a portion of the profits they otherwise retain directly. In Australia, pay-TV broadcaster Foxtel offers NVOD for new-release movies over their satellite service. Edge Spectrum, an American holder of low-power broadcasting licenses, has an eventual business plan to use its network and
12285-721: The most common in the form of over-the-air television, VOD systems initially required each user to have an Internet connection with considerable bandwidth to access each system's content. In 2000, the Fraunhofer Institute IIS developed the JPEG2000 codec, which enabled the distribution of movies via Digital Cinema Packages. This technology has since expanded its services from feature-film productions to include broadcast television programmes and has led to lower bandwidth requirements for VOD applications. Disney , Paramount , Sony , Universal and Warner Bros. subsequently launched
12420-860: The network, and 3DO as the set-top box with video streams and other information to be deployed to 2,500 homes. In 1994–95, US West filed for a patent concerning the provision of VOD in several cities: 330,000 subscribers in Denver, 290,000 in Minneapolis, and 140,000 in Portland. In early 1994, British Telecommunications (BT) introduced a trial VOD service in the United Kingdom. It used the DCT-based MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 video compression standards, along with ADSL technology. Many VOD trials were held with various combinations of server, network, and set-top box. Of these
12555-466: The opening: Firstly ... we have the sound of an organ , accompanied by a wolf ’s howl, with a visual image of a flickering night sky overlaid with unintelligible archaic script: the associations with both the silent era and films such as Nosferatu and with the conventions of the Hammer House of Horror and horror in general are unmistakable. But the theme quickly changes: "It removes itself from
12690-434: The original rule of appearing after 20 seconds on videos potentially as short as 90 seconds. In addition to original programming, Facebook Watch also distributes content licensed from other companies. On November 30, 2018, it was announced that the streaming service had struck a deal with 20th Century Fox Television to stream television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer , Angel , and Firefly . As of 2024, they included
12825-772: The other 45%). Facebook Watch offers tailored video recommendations and organizes content into categories based on metrics like popularity and user engagement. The platform hosts both short and long-form entertainment. In 2018, Facebook allocated a $ 1 billion budget for content creation. The company generates revenue from mid-roll ads and also explored the introduction of pre-roll ads in the same year. As of August 30, 2018, Facebook Watch became globally accessible to all Facebook users. As of September 2020, Facebook reported that Facebook Watch had more than 1.25 billion monthly visitors, 46% of its monthly active user base at that time. On August 9, 2017, Facebook, Inc. announced that it would be launching its own video on demand service. During
12960-489: The portal, thus closing it with her death. At the beginning of season six , Buffy has been dead for 147 days, but Buffy's friends resurrect her through a powerful spell, believing they have rescued her from a Hell dimension. Buffy returns in a deep depression, explaining (several episodes later) that she had been in heaven and is devastated to be pulled back to earth. Giles returns to England because he has concluded that Buffy has become too reliant on him, while Buffy takes up
13095-519: The primary players in the US were the telephone companies using DEC, Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, USA Video, nCube, SGI, and other servers. The DEC server system was the most-used in these trials. The DEC VOD server architecture used interactive gateways to set up video streams and other information for delivery from any of a large number of VAX servers, enabling it in 1993 to support more than 100,000 streams with full videocassette recorder (VCR)-like functionality. In 1994, it upgraded to
13230-496: The process blur the lines between dimensions and unleash Hell on Earth. It is later discovered that the Key's protectors have used Buffy's blood to turn the Key into human form–Dawn–concurrently implanting everybody with lifelong memories of her. The Watchers' Council aids in Buffy's research on Glory, and she and Giles are both reinstated on their own terms. Riley leaves early in the season after realizing that Buffy does not love him and joins
13365-453: The production budget allowed for few permanent sets to be built. In the first season this was limited to the interior of Sunnydale High (the library, hallways, and classrooms), Buffy's bedroom, and the Master's underground lair. Starting in the second season, more permanent sets were built, including the full interior of Buffy's house, Angel's mansion, and Giles's apartment, as well as extensions to
13500-500: The production companies. Behavior detrimental to SVOD revenue Online piracy is detrimental to production companies that produce digital content. In a study that offered BitTorrent users a free SVOD subscription, the results of the research provided readers with information that show download and upload speeds in those homes decreased with a free subscription, but it could not prove decreased use in BitTorrent software. Buffy
13635-571: The production company Sandollar Television, who owned the TV rights to the movie) approached Whedon to develop his Buffy concept into a television series. Whedon explained that "They said, 'Do you want to do a show?' And I thought, 'High school as a horror movie.' And so the metaphor became the central concept behind Buffy , and that's how I sold it." The supernatural elements in the series stood as metaphors for personal anxieties associated with adolescence and young adulthood. Early in its development,
13770-507: The regular content. Peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing software allows the distribution of content without the linear costs associated with centralised streaming media . This innovation proved it is technically possible to offer the consumer potentially every film ever made, and the popularity and ease of use of such services may have motivated the rise of centralised video-on-demand services. Some services such as Spotify use peer-to-peer distribution to better scale their platforms. Netflix
13905-488: The role of Xander Harris following four days of auditioning. Ryan Reynolds and Danny Strong also auditioned for the part. Strong later played the role of Jonathan Levinson , a recurring character for much of the series run. Alyson Hannigan was the last of the original six to be cast. Following her role in My Stepmother Is an Alien , she appeared in commercials and supporting roles on television shows throughout
14040-591: The role of Buffy and got other roles in the show include Julie Benz (Darla), Elizabeth Anne Allen (Amy Madison), Julia Lee (Chantarelle/Lily Houston), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase) and Mercedes McNab (Harmony Kendall). Bianca Lawson , who played slayer Kendra Young in season 2 of the show, originally auditioned for the role of Cordelia before Carpenter was cast in the role. The title role went to Sarah Michelle Gellar , who had appeared as Sydney Rutledge on Swans Crossing and Kendall Hart on All My Children . At age 18 in 1995, Gellar had already won
14175-574: The same announcement it was stated that the new service would be called Facebook Watch. The video on demand service was launched for a small group of U.S. users a day later, with a rollout to all U.S. users beginning at the end of August. In May and June 2018, Facebook launched around six news programs from partners including BuzzFeed , Vox , CNN , and Fox News . These programs, developed by Facebook's head of news partnerships Campbell Brown , reportedly had an overall budget of US$ 90 million. On July 25, 2018, Facebook gave their first presentation ever at
14310-432: The same platforms as traditional TVOD, but at a higher price point, typically about US$ 20 for a 48-hour rental; this offering has again been branded as "Home Premiere" by some studios and platforms. Disney used the September 2020 release of the live-action remake of Mulan to launch a related model called Premier Access ; this requires customers to pay a premium fee (approximately US$ 26–30 depending on country) on top of
14445-450: The score, most episodes featured indie rock music, usually at the characters' venue of choice, The Bronze. Buffy music supervisor John King explained that "we like to use unsigned bands" that "you would believe would play in this place". For example, the fictional group Dingoes Ate My Baby were portrayed on screen by front group Four Star Mary . Pop songs by famous artists were rarely featured prominently, but several episodes spotlighted
14580-672: The series "while there is strength in these bones", stating that it "sucks on ass". Dolly Parton was an uncredited producer of the series. Joss Whedon was credited as executive producer throughout the run of the series, and for the first five seasons (1997–2001) he was also the showrunner , supervising the writing and all aspects of production. Marti Noxon took on the role for seasons six and seven (2001–2003), but Whedon continued to be involved with writing and directing Buffy alongside projects such as Angel , Fray , and Firefly . Fran Rubel Kuzui and her husband, Kaz Kuzui , were credited as executive producers but were not involved in
14715-522: The series progresses, Willow becomes a more assertive character and a powerful witch, and realizes she is a lesbian . In contrast, Xander, with no supernatural abilities, provides comic relief and a grounded perspective. Buffy and Willow are the only characters who appear in all 144 episodes, with Xander appearing in 143. The cast of characters grew over the course of the series. Buffy first arrives in Sunnydale with her mother, Joyce Summers ( Kristine Sutherland ), who functions as an anchor of normality in
14850-521: The series was going to be simply titled Slayer . Whedon went on to write and partly fund a 25-minute non-broadcast pilot that was shown to networks and eventually sold to the WB Network . The latter promoted the premiere with a series of History of the Slayer clips, and the first episode aired on March 10, 1997. Whedon has declared in June 2003 that the non-broadcast pilot would not be included with DVDs of
14985-418: The series with her calling as Slayer and the loss of freedom this entails, frequently sacrificing teenage experiences for her Slayer duties. Her difficulties and eventual empowering realizations are reflections of several dichotomies faced by modern women and echo feminist issues within society. In the episode " Becoming (Part 2) ", when Joyce learns that Buffy is the Slayer, her reaction has strong echoes of
15120-559: The show as "the ultimate metaphor: horrors of adolescence manifesting through these actual monsters. It's the hardest time of life." Each season's storyline is broken down into season-long narratives marked by the rise and defeat of a powerful antagonist , commonly referred to as the " Big Bad ". While the show is mainly a drama with frequent comic relief , most episodes blend different genres , including horror , martial arts , romance , melodrama , farce , fantasy , supernatural , comedy , and, in one episode , musical comedy . In
15255-854: The show. Their credit, rights, and royalties over the franchise relate to their funding, producing, and directing of the original movie version of Buffy . Script-writing was done by Mutant Enemy , a production company created by Whedon in 1997. The writers with the most writing credits are Joss Whedon , Steven S. DeKnight , Jane Espenson , David Fury , Drew Goddard , Drew Greenberg , David Greenwalt , Rebecca Rand Kirshner , Marti Noxon and Doug Petrie . Other authors with writing credits include Dean Batali, Carl Ellsworth , Tracey Forbes , Ashley Gable , Howard Gordon , Diego Gutierrez, Elin Hampton, Rob Des Hotel, Matt Kiene, Ty King, Thomas A. Swyden, Joe Reinkemeyer, Dana Reston and Dan Vebber . Jane Espenson has explained how scripts came together. First,
15390-420: The side of good with Buffy and the rest of the group, she later joins forces with Mayor Richard Wilkins ( Harry Groener ) after accidentally killing a human. She reappears briefly in the fourth season, looking for vengeance, and moves to Angel where she voluntarily goes to jail for her crimes. Faith reappears in season seven of Buffy , after having helped Angel and his crew, and fights alongside Buffy against
15525-500: The sounds of more famous artists such as Sarah McLachlan , The Brian Jonestown Massacre , Blink-182 , Third Eye Blind , Aimee Mann (who also had a line of dialogue), The Dandy Warhols , Cibo Matto , Coldplay , Lisa Loeb , K's Choice , and Michelle Branch . The popularity of music used in Buffy has led to the release of four soundtrack albums: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Album , Radio Sunnydale ,
15660-642: The survivors of the battle escape in a school bus . In the final scene, as the survivors survey the crater, Dawn asks, "What are we going to do now?" Buffy slowly begins to enigmatically smile as she contemplates the future ahead of her, ending the series on a hopeful note. Writer Joss Whedon says that "Rhonda the Immortal Waitress" was really the first incarnation of the Buffy concept, "the idea of some woman who seems to be completely insignificant who turns out to be extraordinary". This early, unproduced idea evolved into Buffy , which Whedon developed to invert
15795-428: The title role. The director, Fran Rubel Kuzui , saw it as a "pop culture comedy about what people think about vampires ". Whedon disagreed: "I had written this scary film about an empowered woman, and they turned it into a broad comedy. It was crushing." The script was praised within the industry, but the movie was not. Several years later, Gail Berman (later a Fox executive, but at that time President and CEO of
15930-432: The town. Adam is destroyed by a magical composite of Buffy and her three friends, and The Initiative is shut down. During season five , a younger sister, Dawn , suddenly appears in Buffy's life; although she is new to the series, to the characters it is as if she has always been there. Buffy is confronted by Glory , an exiled Hell God who is searching for a "Key" that will allow her to return to her Hell dimension and in
16065-524: The unofficial guidebook Dusted point out that the series was often a pastiche , borrowing elements from previous horror novels, movies, and short stories and from such common literary stock as folklore and mythology. Nevitt and Smith describe Buffy' s use of pastiche as "postmodern Gothic ". For example, the Adam character parallels the Frankenstein monster , the episode " Bad Eggs " parallels Invasion of
16200-442: The user with features of portable media players and DVD players. Some VOD systems store and stream programs from hard disk drives and use a memory buffer to allow the user to fast-forward and rewind videos. It is possible to put video servers on local area networks ; these can provide rapid responses to users. Cable companies have rolled out their own versions of VOD services through apps, allowing television access wherever there
16335-466: The vampire Angel and Buffy was fraught with metaphors. For example, their night of passion cost the vampire his soul . Sarah Michelle Gellar said: "That's the ultimate metaphor. You sleep with a guy and he turns bad on you". Marsters said that his character was part of an audience-and network-forced change for the show; themes about overcoming adolescent problems gave way to "problems that are kind of sexy", frustrating Whedon. Buffy struggles throughout
16470-627: The vampire slayer. Buffy receives guidance from her Watcher , Rupert Giles ( Anthony Stewart Head ). Giles, rarely referred to by his first name (it is later revealed that in his rebellious younger days he went by "Ripper"), is a member of the Watchers' Council , whose job is to train and guide the Slayers. Giles researches the supernatural creatures that Buffy must face, offers insights into their origins, advice on how to defeat them, and helps her train to stay in fighting form. Buffy also receives help from
16605-460: The way for the seven Baby Bells— Ameritech , Bell Atlantic , BellSouth , NYNEX , Pacific Telesis , Southwestern Bell , and US West —to implement VOD systems. These companies and others began holding trials to set up systems for supplying video on demand over telephone and cable lines. In November 1992, Bell Atlantic announced a VOD trial. IBM was developing a video server code-named Tiger Shark. Concurrently, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)
16740-429: The world of Buffy the problems that teenagers face become literal monsters. A mother can take over her daughter's life (" Witch "); a strict stepfather-to-be really is a heartless machine (" Ted "); a young lesbian fears that her nature is demonic (" Goodbye Iowa " and " Family "); a girl who has sex with even the nicest-seeming guy may discover that he afterward becomes a monster (" Innocence "). The love affair between
16875-439: The world to end everyone's suffering, although it eventually allows Xander to reach through her pain and end her rampage. Late in the season, after losing control and trying to rape Buffy, Spike leaves Sunnydale and travels to see a demon and asks him to "return him to what he used to be" so that he can "give Buffy what she deserves". After Spike passes a series of brutal tests, the demon restores his soul. During season seven , it
17010-443: The world. The series received critical and popular acclaim, and is often listed among the greatest television series of all time. Original airings often reached four to six million viewers. Although lower than successful shows on the "big four" networks ( ABC , CBS , NBC and Fox ), these ratings were a success for the relatively new and smaller WB Television Network. Despite being mostly ignored in above-the-line categories by
17145-419: The writers talked about the emotional issues facing Buffy Summers and how she would confront them through her battle against evil supernatural forces. Then the episode's story was broken into acts and scenes. Act breaks were designed as key moments to intrigue viewers so that they would stay with the episode following the commercial break . The writers collectively filled in scenes surrounding these act breaks for
17280-434: Was a major AVOD company before ending its free service in August 2016, transferring it to Yahoo! View using the existing Hulu infrastructure. Crackle has introduced a series of advertisements for the same company that ties into the content that is being watched. Ad-Supported Video on Demand (ASVOD) refers to video services that provide free content supported by advertisements. Popular services include Pluto TV , Xumo ,
17415-582: Was developing a scalable video server configured from small-to-large for a range of video streams. Bell Atlantic selected IBM and in April 1993 the system became the first VOD over ADSL to be deployed outside the lab, serving 50 video streams. In June 1993, US West filed for a patent to register a proprietary system consisting of the Digital Equipment Corporation Interactive Information Server, Scientific Atlanta providing
17550-466: Was launched on 16 November 2006 and the BBC's iPlayer , which was launched on 25 December 2007. Another example of online video publishers using legal peer-to-peer technology is based on Giraffic technology, which was launched in early 2011, with large online VOD publishers such as US-based VEOH and UK-based Craze's Online Movies Box movie rental service. Unlike broadcast television, which traditionally has been
17685-442: Was reported to be considering switching to a P2P model to cope with net neutrality problems from downstream providers. Transactional video on demand (TVOD) is a distribution method by which customers pay for each piece of video-on-demand content. For example, a customer would pay a fee for each movie or TV show that they watch. TVOD has two sub-categories: electronic sell-through (EST), by which customers can permanently access
17820-533: Was restricted to London. After attracting 40,000 customers, they were bought by Tiscali in 2006 which was, in turn, bought by Talk Talk in 2009. Cable TV providers Telewest and NTL (now Virgin Media) launched their VOD services in the United Kingdom in 2005, competing with the leading traditional pay-TV distributor BSkyB , which responded by launching Sky by broadband , later renamed Sky Anytime on PC . The service went live on 2 January 2006. Sky Anytime on PC uses
17955-449: Was shut down due to a lack of funding. VOD services are now available in all parts of the United States, which has the highest global take-up rate of VOD. In 2010, 80% of American Internet users had watched video online, and 42% of mobile users who downloaded video preferred apps to a normal browser. Streaming VOD systems are available on desktop and mobile platforms from cable providers (in tandem with cable modem technology). They use
18090-443: Was to reply "most of it". Hannigan decided on an upbeat and happy delivery of the line "most of it", as opposed to a sad, depressed delivery. Hannigan figured Willow would be happy and proud that she got "most of it" back. That indicated how she was going to play the rest of the scene, and the role, for that matter, and defined the character. Her approach subsequently got her the role. The Buffy opening sequence provides credits at
18225-448: Was watched, when it was watched, what they watched after watching, and even how many people watched the same video at the same time in a day, month, and even year. Economics of SVOD Attendance in movie theaters had declined during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Worldwide in 2019, theatrical entertainment reach 11.4 billion dollars, but in 2020, it was only 2.2 billion. Due recovery efforts to increase those attendance numbers, along with
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