The phenomenon of virtual fireplaces is such that they are a hit on streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+ or Prime Video.
This winter and more than ever, it’s not Christmas TV movies that are popular and all the rage on your favorite streaming platforms, but virtual fireplaces. It’s simple, they’re a hit and steal the show from films and series, attracting an ever-increasing audience. But where does this strange trend come from and why are these virtual outbreaks so successful?
The virtual fireplace, a magic that is not new
Even if France is not yet experiencing severe cold like some other years, fake fireplaces have taken up as much space as Christmas trees in French and global homes this winter. They are as reassuring as they are comforting, and literally immerse us in the atmosphere and magic of the end-of-year holidays.
You may not have known it, but the concept is not new. It is even quite old. To find his trace, we have to go back in time and go to the 1960s, where he was born in the United States. In 1966, an American television channel, WPIX, had the good idea of broadcasting a program called The Yule Logtranslate “the Yule log”.
The principle is as follows: for three hours and without interruption, the channel broadcasts in a loop a 17-second film showing a log crackling in a fireplace in the residence of the mayor of New York at the time, near Gracie Mansion. The show will then be broadcast on Christmas Eve. The start of a tradition.
In its trends, Netflix sees rising chimney fires
The program, intended in particular to “offer” homes without chimneys a little comfort, was broadcast in the USA until 1989, before being cut until 2001, then being relaunched in recent years thanks to the explosion of the Internet and the emergence of streaming platforms and other video services, such as YouTube.
On Netflix, for example, director George Ford offers several one-hour videos, each in the form of a fireplace. You can find the “crackling of birch fireplace wood” or the “classic crackling”, both in the top 10 most viewed Netflix programs in recent days. And these videos are even available in 4K, one of them mixing crackling sounds with Christmas music, like We wish you a Merry Christmas And Joy to the World.
Some Netflix competitors are not left out. In a few seconds on Disney+, we come across “The Christmas Log of Arendelle Castle”, in reference to Snow Queen obviously, video during which you will receive a visit from the most famous snowman, Olaf. Just to stay in the mood.
Source : Deadline
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