Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO which streaming platform is the best? The four goliaths of streaming TV, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and HBO, are notoriously secretive about viewership and numbers for their shows. But, there's no denying that we all watch, and watch, and watch A LOT of content. While we can't compare Orange is the New Black to Man in the High Castle to help determine which streaming platform is the best, here's a quick look at what we all watched in 2018.
Streaming by the Numbers:2018
Best of Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video is available in over 200 countries, with hits like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and The Man in the High Castle leading the way. The programming team had a major win over Netflix this year, picking up a highly anticipated five-season series based on The Lord of the Rings books by J.R.R. Tolkien. It's looking to possibly be the most expensive TV show ever made at an expected cost of over $1 billion.
Best of HBO Game of Thrones is still the biggest winner for HBO, with an estimated 30 million viewers across all platforms last season. (That's more than all Hulu subscribers combined!) With the final series airing next year, what will fill that space? Big Little Lies and True Detective will both be back in 2019, but it's unlikely anything will match Games numbers any time soon.
Best of Hulu The Handmaid's Tale is Hulu's biggest original programming draw, with 33 emmy nominations since it began. As of May 2018, Hulu had around 20 million subscribers, up from 17 million in 2017, which many ascribe to the popularity of the dystopian drama.
As Hulu TV, a combination of live TV, as well as their broad content and original programming, continues to grow, we're sure to see even bigger numbers from Hulu in 2019.
Best of Netflix Netflix is famously tight-lipped about viewership, and after it leaked that they spent $80 million to keep the TV show Friends on their 2019 lineup, one has to wonder how massive the numbers must be for them to keep up the pace? They announced in February that there were 700, yes, 700 anticipated original shows for 2018. Based on the amount of splashy NEW banners appearing everytime you log in, they probably hit their number, but who has time to count or watch it all?!
*****
Shout out to Zacuto Graphic Designer, Andy Hood, for making the awesome infographic above!
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