The development of the internet has allowed for the global distribution of content, redefining media communication and property structures through various streaming platforms. Previous studies successfully clarified the factors contributing to trends in each streaming service, yet the similarities and differences between platforms are commonly unexplored; moreover, the influence of social connections and cultural similarity is usually overlooked. We hereby examine the social aspects of three significant streaming services--Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube--with an emphasis on the dissemination of content across countries. Using two-year-long trending chart datasets, we find that streaming content can be divided into two types: video-oriented (Netflix) and audio-oriented (Spotify). This characteristic is differentiated by accounting for the significance of social connectedness and linguistic similarity: audio-oriented content travels via social links, but video-oriented content tends to spread throughout linguistically akin countries. Interestingly, user-generated contents, YouTube, exhibits a dual characteristic by integrating both visual and auditory characteristics, indicating the platform is evolving into unique medium rather than simply residing a midpoint between video and audio media.

翻译：互联网的发展使得内容得以在全球范围内分发，通过各种流媒体平台重新定义了媒体传播与产权结构。以往的研究成功阐明了各流媒体服务趋势的影响因素，但平台之间的异同通常未被探索；此外，社会联系与文化相似性的影响常被忽视。本文研究了三个重要流媒体服务——Netflix、Spotify与YouTube——的社会层面，重点探讨内容在国家间的传播。利用为期两年的热门榜单数据集，我们发现流媒体内容可分为两类：视频导向型（Netflix）和音频导向型（Spotify）。这一特性通过考量社会连通性与语言相似性的重要性得以区分：音频导向型内容通过社交链接传播，而视频导向型内容则倾向于在语言相似的国家间扩散。值得注意的是，用户生成内容平台YouTube兼具视觉与听觉特征，呈现出双重特性，这表明该平台正在演变为一种独特的媒介，而非单纯处于视频与音频媒体之间的中间地带。