The media and entertainment industry has evolved so much. Online video streaming, which started as a trend, is now considered a norm. It has completely changed the way people watch their favourite content.
Cinema-goers have become binge-watchers, and tons and tons of TV shows and films are available just a few clicks away. Not just that, you can also catch up with live TV content on your handheld devices without having to sit in front of a TV screen.
Media companies and production houses have launched their dedicated online streaming platforms. The competition is intense and every streaming platform tries to offer a great range of content and a wholesome user experience.
Offline streaming, screen sharing, multi-platform access, and bundle packages are some of the features offered by VOD services. For instance, you can watch ESPN on Disney Plus by subscribing to its bundle plan.
In this article, we will discuss the top 5 streaming services to watch entertaining content online and what makes them so popular.
1. Netflix
The king of streaming is Netflix, without any second thought! Who doesn’t know about Netflix? Netflix has the largest number of active subscribers due to its vast content library having the highest number of every type of content. So you can watch your favourite shows and movies on it.
Despite losing millions of subscribers this year, Netflix still has around 220.6 million subscribers worldwide. 73.28 million subscribers are only from the United States and Canada. Netflix has completely captured the market, and it is also the oldest one around. It has set the benchmark high for content quality and variety, which other streaming services are trying to compete with.
After all, it’s been more than 20 years that Netflix has been around. You gotta see the library of Netflix yourself to see the vast number of content it offers, licensed and originals, and be blown away by that!
2. Disney Plus
Disney Plus just entered the online streaming industry around 3 years back, but the service is on its way to beating Netflix in the number of subscribers. Disney Plus has already scored over 152 million subscribers around the world and this number is ever increasing. But if we compare the popularity rate Disney Plus has really left everyone behind.
After all, Disney Plus features Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, etc. These massive media houses hold a humongous fan following around the world, which helped Disney Plus gain this much popularity and momentum.
Disney Plus is also not available worldwide, but they are expanding as recently many countries were added to the Disney Plus list. However, it is not sure when this expanding network will spread its service worldwide.
Anyways, some of the amazing movies and TV shows available on Disney Plus are Mandalorian, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Wandavision, Clouds, etc.
3. Amazon Prime
Well, Amazon did not just limit itself to only drop shipping and came roaring with its own contemporary online streaming service which has proven to be a huge success. It was quite an unusual thing to do for Amazon but it still turned into a profitable platform.
Amazon Prime was launched 18 years ago. Reportedly it has over 200 million subscribers around the world. The large number of subscribers that Amazon Prime has, speaks for itself. Amazon Prime offers good quality content with an option to buy or rent.
The downside, like many other streaming apps, is the global coverage, which isn’t well expanded. Amazon Prime offers some best-quality movies and shows like Unhinged, The Stand-In, Double Agents, Promising Young Woman, Chaos Walking, The Handmaid’s Tale, etc.
4. Hulu
Hulu is one of the American streaming platforms and like many others, it is also restricted to only the USA region. Despite being the America restricted service, Hulu is very well known around the world.
Hulu has gained over 39.4 million paid subscribers over the years around the world, despite being the service that is geo-restricted. It has so much potential to make a great impact if the service decides to go global.
For sure the popularity Hulu has gained over the course of its 14 years career is due to its content and originals. Some of the most popular originals that have been released on the platform are Prodigal Son, Fear the Walking Dead, Run, Palm Springs, Fargo, etc.
Similar to Disney Plus, Hulu also offers bundle packages containing subscriptions of Hulu+Disney Plus+ ESPN.
5. HBO Max
It’s been 2 years since Warner Media came with their online streaming platform into the online streaming industry to take on the other streaming giants’ heads up. HBO Max is home to most of its own productions. Looking at where they started and the way they have come, there is no doubt they really have perforated the market efficiently and became salable instantly.
According to reports, the estimated number of subscribers on HBO Max is 76.8 million plus worldwide. Having this large number of subscribers in a short period of time of 2 years is something both amazing and spectacular.
HBO Max gets the new theatrical releases of the movies directly for the subscriber now and has all of the original content from HBO including shows and movies. These reasons should be solid enough for more people to get this service added to their streaming list.
The amazing movies and TV shows available in their library are The Nevers, Emma, The New Mutants, Euphoria, Game of Thrones, The Invisible Man, etc.
