Although there are many alternatives to the streaming service, Netflix comes out better off than anyone under almost any point of comparison. The latest financial results presented by the company are a reflection of the success they have at a global level and how well they have been betting on the original content.
While other services are available in a few regions and are only alternatives for users in some countries, Netflix only needs to reach China, meanwhile it already plans to start licensing content to that gigantic market. Platforms like Hulu, HBO Now and Amazon Prime Video are by now the closest, but quite a distance.
Content is king
In 2015 Netflix announced that it would invest $ 5 billion in original content during 2016. For the first time the popular streaming service would spend more money on its own programming than the HBO cable network.
Already by the second quarter of the year consumer satisfaction surveys placed Netflix above HBO, more and more users believe that the original content of these is the best.
Even in nominations for Emmys awards, Netflix is stepping very close to the heels of HBO, which for 16 consecutive years has obtained more than any chain or streaming service.
HBO Now, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and others
Hulu, a service that is only available in the United States, has more than 12 million subscribers , but its growth has slowed. In addition to offering licensed content and broadcasting many TV series first than any other service, Hulu has also opted for original programming.
Currently they have a grid of more than 20 series and original documentaries, and almost twenty more in production for the near future. This has been a key point for its growth, but is still a long way from Netflix. Hulu offers a $ 8 monthly plan in which subscribers alike must see commercials, and another $12 subscription that eliminates them.
Amazon launched its independent streaming service this year. After spending a good amount of time growing its catalog with original productions and getting exclusive rights to popular series such as Mr. Robot and Downton Abbey, the online sales giant decided to offer a direct alternative to compete with Netflix.
Amazon’s original series has barely reached the 19 productions until now, but they have given much to talk about for their quality and have received several nominations and Emmy awards in the last couple of years. However, the service that costs $ 8.99 per month is not yet available in many territories.
Only in the United States have it, in other countries there is nothing more than the version of Amazon Video that is included in the annual subscription of Prime and has about 60 million users.
HBO Now was released in April 2015 as an independent streaming service that allows users to access content that the channel offers. With a price tag of $ 15 a month and currently only available in the United States, it is HBO’s bid to compete with Netflix for the first time independent of a cable service subscription unlike HBO Go.
By the end of 2015 HBO Now had 800,000 users and during the first quarter of 2016, Time Warner Inc. said the streaming service was close to one million subscribers.
YouTube Network was released in October 2015, for the first time Google introduces a paid subscription associated with its video platform. The service that is currently only available in the United States, Australia and New Zealand and costs $ 10 per month could be one of the largest competitors of Netflix in the long term.
YouTube, after all, has more than 1000 million users worldwide. Red promises its subscribers exclusive content created by some of the most popular youtubers.
In addition, YouTube Network includes a subscription to Google Play Music and an ad-free experience. YouTube has said almost nothing about the number of users who have subscribed, and the assumptions are currently in numbers as low as 100 thousand and as high as 10 million.
In Spain there are local alternatives such as Wuaki.tv that for a subscription of 6.99 euros per month gives you access to a fairly good series catalog, but most of the latest and release films must be rented separately for prices ranging from 1 , 99 to 3.99 euros.
Another platform available is the result of the union of Movistar TV and Canal +: Movistar Plus, which in fact has the rights in Spain of some important originals of Netflix like Orange is the New Black and House of Cards. The service is offered for different prices depending on the package we choose.
There is no point of comparison
At the moment Netflix is the undisputed king of streaming, they already have more than 83 million subscribers worldwide. Only in the last three months has the company managed to gain 3.2 million new users by surpassing all analysts predictions.
During 2016 Netflix will launch an estimated 126 original productions , more than any American cable channel or channel. Investing more than any other in its own content has been the key to the success of the company, which just three years ago launched its first original: House of Cards.
With more global availability, quality productions, and more than affordable prices, Netflix does not even seem to affect you that there are fewer major Hollywood films in your catalog. The film industry insists on turning their backs on them and Netlix has not stood idly by, but they have filled the gap with their own material attracting more and more users.
Teens prefer services like Netflix and YouTube to consume content, the landscape has changed a lot in recent years and the competition seems to take much longer than it should to get on the train. Netflix has even achieved something that many feared would cost them subscribers and popularity: it has beaten the VPNs.
