Published on October 27th, 2020 | by Bibhuranjan

Is Netflix Still Popular Despite the Competition?

2020 is the year of streaming; we see a considerable surge in screentime of people worldwide and a hike in subscriber count for all the VOD streaming services. We also experienced saturation in the industry with numerous launches at the same time around.

These streaming services range from entertainment, sports to live TV services as a replacement for cable TV networks. According to reports, revenue from video streaming is expected to reach $51,617 million by the end of 2020. But among all these numbers and subscribers, we have one clear-cut name that has been ruling the streaming industry for over two decades now, Netflix.

But the question remains, is it still popular? Do people tune into Netflix at the end of their long and tiring days, or do they prefer the newer streaming sites? The answer to the first two questions is yes! Netflix is everyone’s first choice, and we are not surprised at this. It is one of the oldest streaming services and the most popular to-date.

But why? We have tons of new options with a vast reach and fantastic content on their site, plus they are much more affordable than Netflix. Then why is it still everyone’s number one OG? What makes Netflix better than others? Why are other services struggling with Netflix as their competition, rather than being the other way around?

This blog has covered all the significant aspects that are responsible for Netflix’s success. Despite the struggles it faced in the early days of its launch. From content selection to awards, revenue, and a considerable subscriber base, we have mentioned it all. Read along and find out the major reason behind Netflix’s popularity.

Netflix Original Content

Netflix has $7 billion allocated just for its original content, and the bet has paid off since most of the audience prefers Netflix Original series and movies compared to others. According to Reelgood, 11 of the top 20 most-watched shows are Netflix originals. The list includes titles like:

Ozark
Money Heist
Dark
Breaking Bad
Space Force
Better Call Saul
Stranger Things
Tiger King
Unorthodox
Community
and Dead to Me

Various other names like The Umbrella Academy and the recently released Emily in Paris have also grabbed alot of attention and love from Netflix devotees. So far, Netflix has over 1500+ titles since it began producing in-house back in 2013.

Massive Netflix Library

Netflix has one of the biggest libraries with over 13000+ titles, ranging from TV series, movies, and documentaries of all genres. These titles are licensed from other production houses by Netflix, and thus a few restrictions apply to these. Currently, the library for USA Netflix has the most content than other libraries in the world. If you live abroad, then you can get a vpn that works with Netflix and stream the best US library from anywhere.

Netflix Subscriber Count

The subscriber count for Netflix is soaring, and the Coronavirus Pandemic may have a considerable role to play in this. Stuck indoors, with nothing to do, intrigued users to turn towards streaming services like Netflix to spare them the boredom. Netflix saw a massive boost with 26 million new subscribers in just the first 6 months of 2020. Comparing this to stats from 2019, there were 28 million subscribers in that whole year.

Including this figure, Netflix has reached 190+ million subscribers altogether, with 70+ million users from the USA. It has beaten other streaming services here as well, taking the lead in numbers.

But other services like Amazon and Disney+ are close behind with 150 million and 60+ million subscribers, respectively. Disney+ began service almost a year ago, and hence reaching its 5-year goal in only a few months is a massive success for the Walt Disney company. Nonetheless, it still has a long way to go in terms of reaching the same heights as Netflix.

Awards and Nominations

In 2020, Netflix bagged 24 Oscar nominations for its content, though it only took home 2 from the lot. Altogether Netflix is nominated almost 430+ times and won over 200 awards in their entire career.

Revenue

Did you know that Netflix made over $20 billion in revenue in the year 2019? That’s a 127% surge from 2016, where their annual income was over $8 billion only. A massive success came with the gained popularity because of their original content, which was exclusively available on their website.

Along with VOD streaming, Netflix also runs its DVD rental service through the mail that it started back in 2007. It earned $297 million through it in 2019. But over the years, numerous members have shifted to the video streaming side on Netflix and continue to do so.

Wrapping it up!

It seems like Netflix has got it all covered, from content to subscriber count and revenue, it’s soaring, flying with little to worry about other networks. And it truly deserves the success since it’s initial struggling days 23 years back, it never gave up, and finally, all the hard work is paying off.

The secret of Netflix’s success is its content and the amount of research they put into it. Rather than acquiring titles from production houses and Hollywood, they make their content, which people prefer. Diversity, variety, and entertainment.

Other streaming services have since begun working on their in-house production as well, which is also proving fruitful for them, but nothing can beat Netflix for sure.

Tags: Netflix, netflix unblock, netflix vpn, VPN

About the Author

Bibhuranjan Editorial Officer, technofaq.org I'm an avid tech enthusiast at heart. I like to mug up on new and exciting developments on science and tech and have a deep love for PC gaming. Other hobbies include writing blog posts, music and DIY projects.