by: Kya Butler
Netflix has held the top spot for the best streaming service for a little over two decades now with streaming original movies and TV shows. Now, other streaming service like Hulu have emerged on the scene.
Netflix has been at the top tier of streaming services since breaking into the scene in 1997. Netflix started by mailing out DVDs to their users and excluded late fees, which helped to put many of the companies like such as Blockbuster out of business. Beginning in 2007, Netflix launched their streaming service content which brings most of the internet traffic and now is the main part of the business. Movies were once Netflix’s main stream of the company but has since steered toward original TV shows. There are 151 million subscribers for Netflix worldwide as of 2019.
Hulu emerged on the scene in 2008, a year after Netflix switched its main focus to TV shows. Hulu continues to stream a lot of TV shows and comes in as the cheapest TV streaming service. Hulu offers a variety of TV series and movies. Hulu offers not only classic TV shows but also live TV. Hulu has tried to stream original TV show content like Netflix, but has not succeed like Netflix has. Hulu is best for people who watch TV show programming in the U.S. because, Hulu is only offered in the U.S.
There are pros and cons of having a Netflix subscription. One of the pro or advantages of having a Netflix subscription is that they give you a one-month subscription trial. This means you have one month to see what the service has to offer and if you would like to continue your subscription. Another pro of have a Netflix subscription is it’s a commercial-free streaming service. This means there will be no interruption when you are watching your favorite show. A con of the Netflix subscription is you can’t watch your favorite TV show instantly. It takes a period of time before new TV shows to become available. The last con about the Netflix subscription is your location determines what is available in your region and what is unavailable.
Just like Netflix, there are pros and cons of having a Hulu subscription. One pro of having a Hulu subscription is it has a larger library of different shows and movies. Hulu emerged on the scene with streaming TV shows and has kept that as their main focus. Another pro of having a Hulu subscription is they provide live TV. Although channels do vary by your location, you still can get over 50 live TV channels. A con of having a Hulu subscription will be not having access to TV shows and movies while offline. Trying to watch Hulu on the go offline could be a disadvantage to you. Another con against Hulu is having to paying more to steer away from commercials and ads. This causes subscribers to pay more than the base amount of $5.99 cent a month.
On campus at Georgia State University, Netflix and Hulu were the top two answers with only one student selecting Amazon Prime.
Student Chisom Achuko stated that, “I love to watch Netflix because it has a wide variety of shows and original content.” She stated one of her favorite shows on Netflix is a Netflix original called, “Orange is the New Black.” The reason begins that it’s her favorite one is because she can binge watch the show. Netflix drops their original TV shows in an entire season of 10 or more episodes. This separates them from Hulu because Hulu drops their episodes one at a time.
“I rather binge watch a season of my favorite show than to wait for each episode to be release,” said Achuko. Netflix has a wide variety of shows that anyone in the family can enjoy.
One Georgia State University student, Shayana Massey, was conflicted between Netflix and Hulu.
She stated that, “I love Netflix because I can binge watch and it’s commercial free, but I also like Hulu because of its live TV.” In the end, her final answer was Netflix and that’s because, “It’s overall the best streaming service.”
Each streaming service offers special qualities that set them apart from their competition. All in all, it depends on the person and what’s their preference. If you are interested in more of live TV and want to watch your latest shows, Hulu would be beneficial to you. If you like to sit on the couch binge watching, Netflix would be a useful streaming service for you. As of 2019, Netflix is still the overall best streaming service with Hulu coming close behind them.
