Five years ago, if you wanted to watch a specific television show episode, your options were limited. You could watch it or record it when it originally aired, sell a small piece of your soul to iTunes for one episode, illegally stream it online or illegally torrent it. Netflix and Redbox were just starting to gain traction, but neither organization had solved the TV dilemma.
Fast-forward to 2011, however, and Netflix’s quickly growing instant streaming options, along with its plethora of mailbox-ready DVDs, made it a household name. Its stock was booming and it was being touted as a viable alternative to cable television. Then, in perhaps the most controversial decision the company has made, Netflix announced that it would be forking its subscription plan — making it more expensive for those who wanted both access to streaming and the company’s DVD mail service. Business analysts criticized the decision and droves of subscribers abandoned the service. Netflix’s stock plummeted by more than 75 percent in the months following the announcement.
But now, after the dust has settled, Netflix’s stock and subscriber base are both at all-time highs.
Other streaming options have not been able to garner the same popularity. Earlier this year, Redbox started beta-testing Redbox Instant, a streaming service to compete with Netflix, which was quickly labeled a failure. Even Hulu Plus, in spite of its hefty collection of offerings, has been dwarfed by the monolithic Netflix machine. As competitors attempt to catch up to Netflix, it continues speeding forward.
In February to near unanimous praise, the company released “House of Cards,” its first Netflix Originals show in the United States. A political drama about ruthless Congressman Frank Underwood and his cunning yet morally destitute methods, “Cards” has a sturdy 76 percent aggregate score on Metacritic. The whole season was released at once, allowing users to binge watch or pace themselves — a novel concept for a new series.
Netflix continued producing its own shows with “Hemlock Grove” and “Orange is the New Black,” the latter of which garnered rave critical reviews and drew in even more viewers than the service’s earlier original offerings. Netflix even managed to pick up the previously discontinued Emmy-winner “Arrested Development,” a sitcom focused on the dysfunctional Bluth family, and produce a new season for the series.
As it continues to renew its slew of critically-acclaimed shows, Netflix has more programs in the works. Notably, “Marco Polo,” a work of historical fiction that Netflix snagged after Starz dropped the project; “Sense8,” a sci-fi show created by the makers of the “Matrix” films and “V for Vendetta”; and “Narcos,” a drama centered on the life of notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar.
Netflix has also gained serious momentum in the extremely un-serious genre of stand-up comedy. Already featuring stand-up routines by the likes of Louis C.K., Aziz Ansari, Jim Gaffigan, Russel Peters, Zach Galifianakis and George Carlin, Netflix is producing new stand-up specials to which the company will have primary rights. It has already released a routine by John Hodgman, a correspondent for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” to much praise. Netflix has also lined up Russell Peters’ next special, “Notorious,” as well as Aziz Ansari’s upcoming “Buried Alive.”
The content Netflix produces can only lead to one conclusion: the company is prepared to go head-to-head with HBO and Showtime. It offers the same caliber of shows, stand-up specials and movies, but through a cheaper online format.
But it won’t be an easy task for Netflix to truly compete with the premium networks like HBO. Though Netflix boasts an unparalleled collection of classic sitcoms, high-profile dramas and mainstream network fare, HBO’s flagship productions, from “The Sopranos” to “Game of Thrones,” have been kept out of Netflix’s clutches. That said, if Netflix does manage to woo HBO’s masterminds and take on a new slew of top-tier properties, we may see a company that began as a DVD-mailing service becoming a true television powerhouse.
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