One look at the market share demonstrates the strong position that Netflix holds. Recent figures show that almost a quarter of all UK households owned a Netflix subscription in 2016, with roughly 500,000 people subscribing to Amazon Video, the highest competitor.
Although Netflix might have quite a limited movie collection, missing many classics, cult films, and independents, the platform more than makes up for this with its many high quality series and exciting original programming. Some of the most notable ‘Netflix Originals’ include high-budget smash hits like ‘Stranger Things’, ‘Orange is the New Black’, ‘Narcos’, ‘House of Cards’, and when you throw the Marvel series ‘Jessica Jones’, ‘Luke Cage’, and ‘Daredevil’ into the mix, there’s hundreds of hours of top draw entertainment to enjoy. Such is the success of Netflix’s original content that the label ‘Netflix Original’ has almost come to be considered as a quality guarantee.
But there’s more to Netflix than just its original TV shows. Popular series like ‘The Walking Dead’, ‘Modern Family’, ‘The Big Bang Theory’, and ‘Breaking Bad’ are also available for viewing. But the wait can often be a few months after their original airing on US TV that the latest season of shows like this are available on the online streaming service. The same is true for the latest blockbusters. And some big-hitting series like ‘True Detective’ or ‘Game of Thrones’ are nowhere to be found. But new content is added regularly: Netflix updates its back catalogue with both classic series and Netflix Originals several times every month. Lastly, there are plenty of other types of show available, including documentaries like Planet Earth and cartoons.
One of the best things about Netflix is its flexible customer subscription model and many extra bonus features: the initial trial month is free and an online subscription package can be cancelled at any time, meaning signing up is basically risk-free. And if you decide you’re not enjoying Netflix during your trial month, you can just switch to another provider once it’s over – meaning it doesn’t cost you a penny! Netflix is also popular among many commuters: along with its native apps for smart TVs, computer consoles, Apple TV, Chromecast, and the classic browser website, Netflix offers mobile apps for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. And better still, the iOS and Android versions of the app feature a practical download function that allows you to store your favourite programmes for offline viewing, meaning it won’t cost you your data package in streaming. The volume and subtitle controls are also easy to operate.
Netflix offers HD and ultra-HD content, but only at the more expensive Standard and Premium subscriptionpackages. This wouldn’t be such a disadvantage, but for the fact that there’s quite a large gap between price and extra features with the more expensive tariffs. The additions offered for the extra pounds per month are often not worth it for many users. HD is a bonus that many users can enjoy with the Standard package compared to the Basic package, but the only other benefit of the extra price per month jump to Standard is the advantage of being able to stream Netflix on two different devices at the same time. The Premium package offers ultra HD on 4 devices, but this is only worth it for families who have the appropriate 4K/UHD devices and superfast internet speeds.