The current leader in streaming, over-the-top entertainment services is Netflix, which saw larger-than-expected profits during the last months of 2016. However, Amazon Prime follows closely, but most reviewers tend to favor the former in the OC department.
Though Netflix and Amazon Prime offer a similar quantity of movies and series, both of them available for ‘binge-watching’ (the practice of going through an entire season in one day), Netflix has the heart of the audiences.
Nevertheless, it would be good to compare both companies and their latest efforts to garner more viewers.
On Netflix, we have a business that dedicates solely to this market and serves as the current leader. On the other, an online retailer looking to leave its mark.
Amazon Prime: a fierce OTT contender
Beginning with The Man in The High Castle, Amazon Prime has had a good reception with most of its dramas. Many of them have won a good number of film and television awards.
However, comedy seems to be where they are killing it the most. Both Mozart In The Jungle and Transparent had arguably the best reception ever for an Amazon original series.
A study by Business Insider showed that while these productions were doing well in the awards season, people were still watching a lot less than Netflix’s shows.
Only 36% of people surveyed identified Amazon’s shows as ‘interesting,’ while 60% gave this attribute to those on Netflix.
AP’s struggle might have to do with their availability, also reflected on the survey. Their easy-to-watch and easy-to-use scores were significantly lower than that of their main competitor.
Netflix and Chill?
Their position as the go-to choice for binge watching and OTT entertainment might have to do with the fact that they were first in the business and seemed tailor-made for it. Some people credit Netflix with single-handedly inventing the ‘binge-watch’ experience.
Their contents ‘interestingness’ might also have to do with the company’s seeming efforts to put almost every genre of television right into any device for a price that still does not surpass $10.
From the science-fiction 90s drama Stranger Things to the politics-oriented House of Cards, the drug-related Narcos, their MCU connection with Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones, and many others. Netflix seems to have a series for every person, something that its competitors simply cannot match.
This broadness of content might be the reason for which its content ranks higher on the survey, as people are more likely to find something interesting within their OC list than with Amazon or the other minor competitors.
Source: Business Insider