It seems that while everyone else was talking about the Time Warner Cable merger with Comcast, online companies Amazon, Yahoo and Google found a role for streaming in a changing industry,  making room for themselves.

In just this past week, Amazon and Google have spurred talks about their new streaming products – Amazon Fire TV and Android TV (Google will continue to sell their Chromecast device as well). Yahoo is also rumored to be looking at acquiring an online video service, News Distribution Network, in hopes of launching four online TV series. And as we’ve seen with original series from Netflix and Hulu taking over recent award shows, it looks like even big networks such as ABC, NBC, FOX, etc. all have new competition as well.

Each product offers new features such as voice commands, apps, games, more memory and better processors in addition to providing streaming service. Competitors would include some of the biggest streaming companies such as Netflix, YouTube and Hulu. Oh yeah, and let’s not forget the cable and satellite companies!

The TV industry is proving to be a robust one despite all of the changes it may face in the near future, from mergers among top providers to brand new competitors entering the industry. These streaming devices could be a definite game changer for how you watch TV. So what do you think – would you rather stream your favorite shows rather than set a recording?