The rise and popularization of online streaming, especially within the past ten years, has completely revolutionized the way we watch television, movies, and yes, even vine compilations. YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, HBO, Spotify, Pandora and so many other websites have taken advantage of the inexhaustible resource that is the Internet — and virtually anything (television, movies, music, books, magazines, news articles, and mail are now all conveniently available at the click of a button.
With this, it becomes harder and harder to remember back when Netflix used to mail DVDs to your house.
Netflix, now a household name and a commonplace on the Wii, the X-Box, laptops, and even smartphones, is currently the world's tenth largest internet company by revenue and the leading media streaming website by far. Having been started back in 1997, it was only until around 2007 that Netflix began streaming entertainment primarily online — and 2013 when they began producing their own content.
Netflix is probably the most common and most popular of the online streaming sites, primarily because it was Netflix that originally struck gold with the idea of an online library of streamed media content. Since then, Netflix has been followed by "off brand" companies like Hulu, HBO and the upcoming Disney streaming site set to open around 2019.
Netflix, however, has a lot to learn from other streaming sites, more specifically, Hulu.
Whether it be my own personal yet unpopular opinion or not, in terms of convenience, accessibility, and content, Hulu streaming beats Netflix at its own game.
After becoming public in 2008, Hulu originally could not keep up with the demanding market that Netflix was currently completely dominating. In 2009 it was even admitted that Hulu "needs to evolve to have a meaningful subscription model as part of its business."
Hulu Plus was then released publicly in 2010, this time offering full seasons and day-after access to current season content.
In contrast, the business model for Netflix was — and continues to be — pretty simple. Back in the days of DVDs and snail mail, you would compile a list of the movies in which you would like shipped to your house (one DVD at a time, I might add), and you'd receive said DVDs in a timely manner.
When online streaming became the rage of the 2010's, however, there became a divide of content that was available to stream and content that, "sorry, but Netflix didn't have available."
This schism between "is this even on Netflix" only continued to grow as the content library of online Netflix expanded — and the content that Netflix did have was, in short, straight from Red Box.
I love Netflix as much as the next college student, sure, but there comes a point in which a girl has to admit that she deserves better.
Since cashing in on the Spotify + Hulu for $5 a month (which, by the way, is a steal), it's become more and more apparent that, while Netflix has the brand and aesthetic, Hulu has much, much better quality.
Hulu not only has a content library including every episode of the latest and greatest television shows (including those that are on Netflix — "New Girl," "The Office," "Parks and Recreation," and even every single season of "Saturday Night Live"), they are also up to date with the new episodes released weekly. Netflix only has the most recent season of last year.
How else would I have watched season 6 of "New Girl" if not through Hulu?
Yes, Hulu has ads, I will admit. But in the day and age in which binging television for 12+ hours is amateur, I would think that 120 seconds of ads is enough time for a breather, right? Watching episode after episode of "Glee" or "Friends" without a break is, dare I say it, exhausting.
Netflix has had a lot of time in the spotlight, but with the modernization and improvements on how people use online streaming, it needs to catch up. "Hush" and "Clown" are not good enough scary movies to advertise, and the recent upload of "The Emoji Movie" speaks for itself.
Netflix has a couple classics, sure — where would I be without "Stranger Things" or "Black Mirror"? There's also an interesting collection of anime and Korean dramas, for those with acquired tastes, and if you ever wondered how "Glee" or "Breaking Bad" ended, those are on there too.
However, most of the content of Netflix's library is outdated, uninteresting, or just plain bad — and even the quality content that is good on Netflix is only there temporarily, because Netflix stops offering a compiled list of television shows and movies each month.
(By the way, "One Tree Hill" is still on Hulu, y'all.)
Yes, they're both simply streaming websites, and yes, it shouldn't really matter that much. However, there is something to be said about websites that are flexible enough to evolve with the culture of online streaming that has become so overwhelmingly popular. Netflix, while being the primary site that "started it all" has — in my opinion — failed to keep up with the ever changing way we use technology.
Netflix, even at its ripe age of 21, still has a lot to learn.
