Week in Geek: Disney and Facebook vs. Netflix, Dota 2 letdown, and Shake Shack meets Amazon

What’s your go-to streaming service? Netflix still reigns supreme when it comes to watching shows online, but Hulu, Amazon and others have been gaining ground.

Now the field has two more competitors. Disney cut ties with Netflix this week and announced it’s making a streaming service for its own content, along with ESPN content. Facebook, meanwhile, is getting in the game with Facebook Watch, including its own original content.

We start this episode of the Week in Geek podcast by talking about the changing landscape for streaming video content. We also get a reminder about an old-fashioned cord-cutting trick, courtesy of this Wall Street Journal story and its epic headline: Millennials Unearth an Amazing Hack to Get Free TV: the Antenna.

Also on the show this week, we revisit the booming esports phenomenon, which has been on full display this week at The International, Valve’s Dota 2 championships at KeyArena in Seattle. With a $24 million prize pool, it’s the richest esports tournament pool of all time, according to ESPN.

However, based on the reaction from the crowd, fans were hoping Valve was going to unveil a lot more than a virtual card game in this teaser played at the event.

LOL THE DISAPPOINTMENT #TI7 pic.twitter.com/WVXP30jxyT

— nick@TI7 (@nickisnixed) August 9, 2017

In other news, we recap and explain the controversy surrounding GeekGirlCon after five volunteer organizers resigned from the group in protest less than two months before the popular event in Seattle.

And in our final segment, The Random Channel, we use the news that Shake Shack is coming to the heart of Amazon country as an excuse for an epic debate about the best burger in the city and, well, the world.

Joining me on the show this week are three GeekWire reporters who covered many of these stories: Clare McGrane, Monica Nickelsburg and Taylor Soper.

Listen above, download the MP3, and don’t forget to subscribe and rate the podcast in Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Stitcher, Google Play, or wherever you listen. Thanks for listening!