The war for your streaming dollars is at an all-time high in 2018. With Netflix set to release another 500 original programs before the end of the year, Amazon to spend $1 billion on “Lord of the Rings,” and Hulu finally becoming relevant with their series “The Handmaid’s Tale,” the flood of streaming content has never been as powerful and deep as it is now. And according to a new survey, we know which service reigns supreme.
Wall Street firm Morgan Stanley has released their annual streaming-video survey (via Variety) and we now know which service the average person thinks is doing best regarding original content. The survey says that 39% of U.S. consumers rank Netflix as the streaming service with the “best original programming.” The 39% is up 6 points from last year’s survey and stretches their already large lead even further. The survey mentions “Stranger Things” as the main driving factor for increasing their lead.
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The distant second place finisher is HBO, with 14% of the vote. While many don’t think of the premium channel as a streaming service, remember the company launched their HBO Now service for those without a cable subscription. And clearly, HBO can thank “Game of Thrones” for this showing, as well as surprise hits like “Big Little Lies.”
Rounding out the major services are Amazon Prime Video with 5% (but gaining ground since 2017), Hulu with 4% (“The Handmaid’s Tale” can only do so much), Showtime at 3%, Starz at 2%, and Cinemax at 1%.
Of course, we expect this group to get shuffled around in the next couple of years, with the influx of spending from Amazon, the prestige that Hulu suddenly sees, and newcomers like Disney and Apple making a big splash. Plus, there are networks like CBS, who are starting to make a bit of streaming noise with their “Star Trek: Discovery,” as well as an upcoming series from filmmaker David Lowry.
