From left: Netflix’s I Think You Should Leave, HBO’s Euphoria.
Photographic Illustration: Vulture; Photos from Netflix and HBO
A year ago, I was asked to come up with a half-scientific way to classify all the major platforms for playing on the millions of dollars of effort to master the new battlefield on TV. Not surprisingly, Netflix appeared at the top, but it was much closer than I expected. A Hollywood agent told me that it was quite possible that he thought Netflix’s high-ranking mandate would be short-lived: “A year from now, this list could be very different,” he said. That was an understatement.
As this is our main story about this year’s hot streaming list, there have been many changes in our rankings. HBO Max, after a meager two years, has now appeared as the hottest streamer on TV, and it wasn’t even close. Disney +, on a wave of Marvel and Star Wars regular success, climbed to No. 2, while Apple TV ++ had a big boost. And Netflix, the streaming colossus that revolutionized the TV and film business in less than a decade? Well, it’s been a tough year. Here’s all the changes to this year’s streaming power rankings and how HBO Max stole the crown on Netflix.
The longtime champion drops from first to third in our 2022 edition of the rankings, behind the new HBO Max leader and Disney + runner-up. Although the streaming giant still has more original content and more subscribers than any other platform, it has lost its place in every other metric we use to evaluate players:
➽ Critical rumble: We’ll see what happens when Emmy nominations are announced next week, but now Netflix seems more interested in converting the digital version of the TV than trying to match it in the HBO quality section. That doesn’t mean it’s gone all the way to online TV, as some experts suggest: Maid, Squid Game, I Think You Should Leave, and The Chair, for example, are among the nominees for the platform’s awards. In addition, Netflix is still investing heavily in making major films with prestigious directors. The problem is that, as in terms of television, there is more competition than ever before, and many projects do not generate the critical attention it could have received a few years ago. The exact case: despite spending nearly five years and hundreds of millions to become the first player to win an Oscar for Best Picture, Apple TV + finally got it with the first CODA.
➽ Respect for the industry: Like last year, we surveyed a dozen people in Hollywood and asked them how they would classify breeders, and, again, what a difference it had in the year. In 2021, more than half of our respondents listed Netflix as the hottest player in town; this year, only four out of 14 have done so. Most were ranked third or lower, and HBO Max and Disney + finished in 1st and 2nd place in this category. “You can’t count on Netflix: the scale of their scale and ubiquitous subscribers is still important,” said a studio official who took our survey. “But they need a strategy that will help them compete with all the new entrants.”
➽ Moment: Netflix ended last here, and even if you pay a little attention to the news, you know why. Growth in subscribers came to a halt in the first quarter of the year, and the company now expects to lose two million more members this month when the results for the second quarter are announced. And as a result of this negative growth, Wall Street has penalized Netflix, destroying two-thirds of its rating as a company. Instead of upgrading, the streamer is now messing around, expanding an ad-supported plan and reducing costs through hundreds of layoffs. Anyway, everywhere the news has been bad for Netflix, and apparently at the same time.
As I noted above, our survey is semi-scientific. Measurements like Critical Rumor and Momentum are highly subjective, and even measurements that were quite dry — such as how many people are actually watching various shows and movies — are now mysterious, due to a complete lack of transparency. that the main platforms as well as what the “ratings” meant didn’t even mean that. (More on that later.) Netflix also has a big advantage in the areas it counts, such as general subscribers and how much revenue it generates per account. Its shares are still selling at almost double the price of its closest rivals Amazon and Disney, at least for now. So even though Netflix has clearly fallen, it’s far from sinking.
When HBO Max launched in May 2020, most of the conversation about the new streamer focused on the platform or its programming, and the audience was more confused about the difference between the classic HBO. The months were very eventful, which caused too much condemnation in the media and on Wall Street. But that’s all history now: two years later, HBO Max is playing the hottest hand in streaming, and he had no problem getting Netflix out of the top spot.
What pushed Max to the top is pretty simple: hold the star. Initially, the pandemic delays wrinkled the most important part of Max’s programming channel, namely the original HBO series. But the floods opened last fall with the return of the tent holes in Succession, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Insecure. In the following months, Euphoria, The Righteous Gemstones, Barry, and more recently Westworld followed new seasons. These popular phases were completed with the drumming of powerful newcomers carrying the HBO or HBO Max brands: The White Lotus, Station Eleven, Julia, Winning Time, The Gilded Age, Somebody Somewhere, Peacemaker, Our Flag Means Death, Minx, and Just Like That …, The Sex Lives of College Girls, Tokyo Vice.
Photographic Illustration: by the vulture; Photos Getty Images
Borrowed from an old radio business slogan, the offer has been deadly and (very little) filling. Yeah Al that sounds pretty crap to me, Looks like BT aint for me either, Looks like BT aint for me either. But it’s not the same inflation that Netflix or Prime Video cause. The result has been an almost flawless evolution of HBO on HBO Max.
Other factors helped Max gain the throne of streaming. On the one hand, the historical power of HBO to program, promote and market its shows has continued in the streaming era. The biggest shows (HBOs) still premiere on Sunday or Monday nights at 9pm or 10pm. ET, with weekly releases. He maintains a sense of community around them and holds a weekly event for two months. Moreover, there is a logic to when the shows unfold: a pleasant drama from a bygone era, such as the Gilded Age, such as Julia, is there to try to capture a similar audience. And HBO provides its biggest shows, be it the original “HBO” or “HBO Max,” the right marketing campaign, rather than relying on an algorithm to warn fans.
I also think that the credit for what Max is doing so well right now belongs to his product group. In the first year of service there were technical issues as engineers made an effort to upgrade the guts of the old HBO Go service. The app itself was prone to bugs and crashes, and the user interface – although always robust – wasn’t entirely there. I’m sure some people are still having problems (professional advice: it might be your poor playback device!), HBO Max is enjoyable to use now.
I’m still partisan on Netflix when it comes to the user interface, but like so many others, what used to be intriguing in its endless queues of content now seems like a work in progress. HBO Max just feels better taken care of, and it’s easier to find a good classic movie to watch or a classic TV show. Rather than random words connected by a computer, there is a real personality in the descriptions of the content. Like using an Apple product, browsing HBO Max is like shopping for business class or storefronts in a trendy place. In the era of Too Much TV, an app that can make users feel like they are getting their money has a big advantage.
Regarding the other services in our survey:
➽ Disney + (No. 2) has risen one place mostly because Netflix has dropped so far more than last year. However, the IP machines on the Mouse House platform continue to generate steam, releasing a new Marvel or Star Wars title almost every month. That’s a lot better than the first – or second – year, when there were long stretches of interesting titles.
➽ Since I’ve been an Apple TV + bull (No. 4) since day one, I’m not surprised by its progress. His leadership sensibly realized that large conglomerates were preparing to retrieve the best content for their own platforms, that it didn’t make sense to spend billions on building a good-for-nothing content library based on everything available (e.g., MGM’s post-80s film company). Before selling to Amazon). Instead of burning money in cash, Apple is paying (some would say they pay too much) to enrich the biggest stars and creators. It’s a page taken from the HBO playbook, and it’s working.
➽ Hulu’s year was much better than its respectable middle rankings (No. 5) would suggest, although it rose in the overall rankings. Between the Hulu-branded series, the FX channel, and the crooked adult movies of Disney studios, the veteran streaming has never been stronger in terms of the original offering. The ABC siblings also stepped up their game, finding great listeners at Abbott Elementary and The Wonder Years on Hulu. The only thing that keeps Hulu going is its overall size: it doesn’t have the budget or marketing resources of a little Disney + sibling, which means it often loses a bit in cultural dialogue. Joining the big Disney + under a single app is inevitable.
➽ Amazon Prime Video (No. 6) has dropped two places this year, mainly due to the downtime. Yes, The Boys is a huge hit, and the Amazon streamer continues to offer a nice mix of originals that appeals to many demographic groups; all from the wonderful documentary Lucille Ball by Amy Poehler and the invigorating atmosphere of Lizzo’s Watch Out for the. The Big Grrrls reality show hit the summer sleeper hit The Summer I Turned Pretty. The platform does good things. But perhaps because he’s spending a lot on big draws like Thursday Night Football and the new Lord of the Rings series (and on blockbusters like The Terminal List), Prime doesn’t see as steady a cadence of content to watch. Apple or Hulu. In addition, it continues to be loaded with the worst user interface in the world, except …
➽ Paramount + (No. 7), like Hulu, was much better than 12 months old than its state indicates. It’s very small because it’s still new (it’s not even 18 months old), it doesn’t have the resources of older guys, and yes, the user experience — although it’s improving a bit — seems designed to make it impossible to find something. see from his large library. But his original board has begun to gain critical mass: Taylor Sheridan’s multiple spin-offs from the Yellowstone universe, all of Star Treks (including today’s critically acclaimed Star Trek: Strange New Worlds), two Kings ’shows (Evil, The Good Fight). ), The Real World Homecoming franchise, and one of the best new comedies on the net in recent years (CBS’s Ghosts). Paramount Pictures ’feature films are also coming to the app two months after they hit theaters (though not Top Gun: Maverick, I think), and CBS live rate TV is an attractive option for many cable-cutters who drill. 1st American Network ”. No, it still doesn’t seem essential, but you see a way forward.
What is the biggest streaming platform?
➽ Peacock (No. 8) ends up at the bottom of our survey again, even though Paramount + is new this year, Comcast’s player has actually been left in a position. There’s no denying that Peacock still had its strongest stretch in the first quarter of 2022: The Winter Olympics experience improved a lot from the 2021 Summer Games, Marry Me was a huge success, and while the criticism was mixed, Bel-Air made a lot of noise. . Her original comedies (Girls5eva, Rutherford Falls, Killing It) seem to be the streaming evolution of NBC’s old Thursday-night comedy program Must-See TV. But the platform still seems to be all over the map when it comes to drama and reality shows, and many of its series have come and gone without anyone noticing. NBC’s first-hour programming will only begin on Peacock this fall (excluding Hulu), giving it another chance to restart the service as it seeks a winning strategy.
Which is better HBO Max or Hulu?
Amazon has more than 200 million subscribers to Amazon Prime worldwide, 112 million in the U.S., but not all of them claim to be Prime Video users. Also, few play YouTube, which is probably the second, after Netflix.
Overall, Hulu is one of the most widely used networks for viewing video content, but HBO Max is the best option for users who are subscribed to a partner network that can provide free network access. On the same subject : 6 to buy high-tech shares that may have a higher yield in a recession.
Is HBO Max different on Hulu?
Is HBO Max cheaper than Hulu? HBO Max Pricing, Plans, Subscription An unannounced subscription to HBO Max costs $ 14.99 per month for new subscribers, but is free for current HBO or HBO NOW customers. That’s the same price on Netflix ($ 14) but more than Hulu ($ 5. This may interest you : Why ‘The Man from Toronto’ does more harm than good to Netflix.99), or a total of $ 13.99 more than a Disney series that includes Disney, EPSN, and Hulu.
What streaming service has the most users?
| While you can choose to purchase through the HBO Max subscription app, it’s faster, easier, and offers a more robust overall experience to do with Hulu. Just for the quality of the viewing experience, it’s worth paying an extra $ 5 through Hulu’s plan, instead of the basic subscription price of HBO Max. | Application name |
|---|---|
| Use of the US video playback app | Amazon Prime Video |
| 40 million | Twitch |
| 35 million | Hulu |
| 35 million | Apple TV |
15 million
What is the most used streaming service?
Who is the 1st streaming service? # 1) YouTube TV is best for playing 85 channel content. See the article : Dua Lipa’s father will host her music festival in Kosovo after all. For a long time, YouTube was and still is one of the best free streaming services in high demand.
- Evaluation of the best reproduction service according to our request
- # 1 Netflix.
- 2. Amazon Prime Video.
- # 2 Disney
- # 4 Fun.
- # 4 Hulu.
- # 4 HBO Max.
- # 4 Peacock.
Is Netflix the world’s largest streaming service?
# 8 Crunchyroll.
What is the most used streaming service 2020?
At the moment, Netflix is still the largest streaming service, it goes without saying. According to Statista, there were 221.64 million subscribers to Netflix in the first quarter of 2022.
- The 10 most downloaded video application applications in the US in 2020 were:
- Disney: 45.2 million downloads.
- Netflix: 44.7 million.
- YouTube: 40 million.
- Hulu: 31 million.
- Amazon Prime Video: 27 million.
- Tubes: 25 million.
- Roku: 23 million.
HBO Max: 23 million.
What is the most popular streaming service 2021?
What is the most common streaming application? Twitch is the most popular platform for playing live content, offering users the opportunity to subscribe to their favorite channels.
