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Unsurprisingly, Netflix emerged on top but it was a lot closer than I had expected.
That turned out to be an understatement.
Disney+, riding a wave of Marvel andStar Warshits, shot up to No.
2, while Apple TV+ exhibited some major momentum.
And Netflix, the streaming colossus that upended both the TV and movie business within less than a decade?
Well, its been a rough year.
Plus, Netflix is still investing heavily in making Important Movies With Prestige Directors.
Most ranked it third or lower, allowing HBO Max and Disney+ to finish No.
2 in this category.
But they need a strategy that can help them compete with all new entrants.
Everything and everywhere, the news has been bad for Netflix and seemingly all at once.
As I noted at the top, our survey issemi-scientific.
(More on that later.)
So while Netflix clearly has fallen, it has far from sunk.
What pushed Max to the top is pretty simple: stellar content.
But there is not the same bloat that plagues Netflix or even Prime Video.
The result has been a nearly flawless evolution of HBO into HBO Max.
Other factors contributed to Max winning the streaming throne.
ET, with episodes rolling out weekly.
It maintains a sense of community around them and makes them an event every week for two months.
),HBO Max is now a delight to use.
Theres an actual personality to the descriptions of content rather than random words strung together by a computer.
- moved up a spot mostly because Netflix fell so far versus last year.
As someone who has been anApple TV+(No.
- bull since day one, its progress does not surprise me.
Its a page right out of the HBO playbook, and its working.
Hulusyear was a lot better than its respectable middle-of-the-pack (No.
- ranking would suggest, though it did move up a spot in the overall standings.
Even sibling ABC stepped up its game, withAbbott ElementaryandThe Wonder Yearsfinding big audiences on Hulu.
Joining a supersized Disney+ under a single app just feels inevitable.
Amazon Prime Video(No.
- fell two spots this year, and its mostly because of stalled momentum.
The platform makes good stuff.
7), like Hulu, had a much better 12 months than its near-the-bottom standing indicates.
No, it doesnt feel essential yet, but you could see a path forward.
