Nearly 15 years ago, it would have been unimaginable to stream high-quality digital content straight from a user’s phone, but nowadays it’s normal, with hundreds of streaming services competing for viewers’ attention.
Even with the proliferation in competitors, the industry has been dominated by a few major players, among them Netflix, Disney+ and Hulu. However, in recent years, the new competitors have pushed streaming services to add new features to stay competitive. Which of these innovations are gimmicks and which ones are worth the spend?
The best streaming service innovations in the past decade
Several corporations have started releasing original content to differentiate themselves and draw in new users. Netflix, for instance, launched Netflix Originals in 2015 alongside mobile and TV-based games which were released in 2021.
Popular Netflix Originals like “Stranger Things” and “The Witcher” were crucial in attracting large audiences and building a loyal subscriber base. Meanwhile, Disney+ has seen success by acquiring major franchises like Lucasfilm and Marvel, with shows like “The Mandalorian” gaining widespread popularity. One other prominent service that has started creating original content is Apple TV+, which created Apple Studios in 2019. While it doesn’t offer the massive library that Netflix or Disney+ does, Apple has created high-quality and popular shows such as “Ted Lasso,” “Severance” and “Silo.” This change has brought new types of content and more options for the average consumer.
Additionally, new releases have started going back to weekly approaches rather than seasonal releases that used to be the most common model for streamers. Many speculate that this change has been implemented to keep viewers entertained and subscribed to the service while the tv show airs, rather than canceling their subscription after finishing the show in a shorter period of time.
On Disney+, shows like “The Last of Us” and “WandaVision” gained traction by adopting this weekly release model, building suspense and drawing viewers back week after week. The majority of users have mixed opinions on this approach with some arguing the build in suspense adds value to the show, while others say they prefer the flexibility to watch at their own pace.
The worst streaming service innovations in the past decade
With the rise of short-form videos in TikTok, YouTube and other social media platforms, streaming services have started implementing this style into their content. In 2023, Spotify released 30-second clips of songs where artists can share short videos and reels of songs for users to Pre-save and scroll through. Even Netflix experimented with this with its Fast Laughs feature, which was released in 2021. This feature allows users to scroll through funny moments from their top TV shows. However, few customers used it, Netflix removed this feature in 2023. Considering these types of features are not widely used or appreciated it doesn’t add much value to these services making it not worth the spend.
Another trend that has been observed by viewers is the rise in interactive content. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, Disney+ and Paramount+ all have their own versions of interactive content and none of this content has managed to attract viewer attention. In fact, Netflix removed almost all of their interactive content last December. As a viewer, I found most of the interactive content on these platforms tacky and childish. Instead of being a custom designed program that was thought out it felt more like the content was low effort and just trying to get clicks by spinning off popular content.
Which services are worth the investment?
While streaming platforms compete for attention, they continue to experiment with new and improved content strategies that benefit users such as new types of release models, and new pricing structures to keep users engaged. However, some of these new strategies such as creating short-form content are not worth the money spent, and with more and more streaming services seemingly popping up every day, the average consumer has a hard time deciding where to subscribe.
When looking for free content with ads, Tubi has a large collection of content, whereas Disney+ has the rights to big franchises such as Marvel, Pixar and Lucastfilm. For my money, the best all around streaming platform remains Netflix as it has a plethora of original content and offers multiple tiers of service if you are on a budget.
