A bounty of originals help make Netflix far more popular than its rivals, study finds

By Lulu Chang Published February 2, 2017

There’s a reason the phrase is “Netflix and chill.” While the streaming service may have competitors in the form of Hulu and Amazon, when it comes to content, Netflix is king. That claim is backed up by a recent study by Parrot Analytics, which found that Netflix originals are eight times more popular than those from Amazon and nine times more popular than those from Hulu. Though Netflix is notoriously protective of its viewer data, some interesting numbers have emerged.

In conducting its study, Parrot Analytics examined “cross-platform, country-specific measurements of video streaming, social media activity, photo sharing, blogging, commenting on fan and critic rating platforms,” and downloading and streaming by way of peer-to-peer protocols and file-sharing sites, Fierce Cable explained. And it would appear that Netflix’s secret to success is sheer volume — with more than 50 original titles to its name, it’s no wonder that some of them are blockbusters.

Recommended Videos

“Netflix’s veteran titles still attract significant amounts of demand, such as the peak in March (weeks 9-13) from the fourth season of House of Cards and the second season of Marvel’s Daredevil,” Parrot Analytics wrote in a report. “However, Netflix’s true strength is in its constant production and release of new, buzzy content.” Citing the gargantuan success after the premiere of Stranger Things in week 28, the analytics firm noted that Netflix’s popularity reached new heights. “Other new hits such as Marvel’s Luke Cage in week 39 and The OA in week 50 continued to build on this popularity, leading Netflix to end the year with over 2.7 times more demand than the other three platforms combined,” Parrot concluded.

The volume of Netflix’s output also helps to bring in subscribers and increase its stock price, Parrot noted. Indeed, this is something that Netflix itself has corroborated — last quarter, the company brought in 7 million new subscribers and saw its stock price increase 8.4 percent in after-hours trading. Netflix attributed this growth to its popular catalog.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…

Entertainment

10 best Netflix shows with more than 5 seasons, ranked

A woman puts a crown on a man in The Crown.

Netflix is home to many great shows. It's also the most prolific and well-known streaming service of them all, with a large catalog of original and acquired content. However, the King of Streamers is also famous for being quite trigger-happy. Indeed, Netflix is no stranger to canceling its shows, even if it spent millions producing them; if they don't yield immediate results, the streamer will pull the plug without blinking an eye.

Still, many original shows have beaten the cancellation curse and had a successful life, at least by streaming standards. These shows are Netflix's best efforts that actually got to enjoy a full life cycle, receiving more than five seasons. None might come close to the 100-episode mark, but these beloved series prove to hopeful showrunners everywhere that there is indeed life on Netflix after season 5.
10. Virgin River (2019-present) - 6 seasons

Entertainment

A Man Called Otto is a hit on Netflix. Here are 3 reasons why it’s so popular

Mariana Treviño shows a drawing to Tom Hanks in A Man Called Otto.

Following its release in theaters at the beginning of the year, A Man Called Otto has finally arrived on Netflix. The film, which is based on a 2015 Swedish movie called A Man Called Ove, follows an aging, cynical widower who finds that his life is opened up after he develops a relationship with his neighbors. Although the movie didn't make an insane amount of money in theaters, A Man Called Otto is doing quite well for itself on the streaming service, ranking consistently high on Netflix's most popular movies of the week list.

Anyone who tells you that they know exactly why a certain movie connects with audiences is lying. In this case, though, there are some factors we can examine which may offer some clues as to why A Man Called Otto has become such an incredible phenomenon since it hit the service a few weeks ago.
1. Tom Hanks's star power
A MAN CALLED OTTO - Official Trailer #2 (HD)

Audio / Video

More than 100 Amazon Originals head to Amazon Freevee

Amazon Freevee app on a TV.

If you needed any more proof that branding is out of control, consider the following sentence: Amazon today announced that more than 100 Amazon Originals, which first appeared on Amazon Prime Video, will be made available for free on Amazon Freevee.

Or, in other words, you'll be able to watch things like The Wheel of Time, Reacher, A League of Their Own, and LuLa Rich — to name but a few — for free, without a subscription to Amazon Prime.