Netflix Vs HBO – The ultimate streaming platform

Netflix is no slouch, having launched original series such as House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black, acquired the right to air five new Marvel series and Chelsea Handler’s next project, grown from 33 million to 57.4 million subscribers, and increased revenue from $3.6 billion to $5.5 billion, while boosting its stock price almost 400%. Two to three years ago, the average user was watching almost 60 minutes of Netflix a day. Today, it’s nearly two hours. It is reported that Netflix is bigger than every single cable and premium-cable network in the U.S. With such monumental growth, Netflix has forced the incumbent powers to react. The most notorious of these rivals, HBO, have a fight on their hands. HBO still lead the pack in quality and have an enviable roster of original series (True Detective and Game of Thrones to name but a few). However HBO lacks the usability of the Netflix platform. Netflix’s growth is down to the fact that it was never perceived as another cable subscription service; rather it was its own unique medium of on demand TV.

HBO’s response to Netflix’s precociousness comes in the form of HBO Now, it is a stand-alone version of HBO Go, an app that gives access to just about every episode of every HBO series, as well as tons of movies, documentaries, and sports. Rather than merely being a bonus for people who subscribe to HBO through an existing cable provider, HBO Now will not require a cable subscription. It will be available at launch to anyone with an Apple device.

This is the closest iteration of HBO to Netflix’s platform model and marks a new battle ground. Only time will tell if HBO can rebrand itself and shake off the perception of it being another provider and become a platform in its own right. The race is on, the platform that gambles and ceaselessly innovates is bound to take the spoils.

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