Among the most popular online streaming options available in the contemporary world are Netflix and Hulu. Both Hulu and Netflix offer a wide range of viewing options, but their content libraries are quite different. Hulu provides the widest selection of current-season TV shows as well as smaller movie selection while Netflix offers a larger selection of TV series, movies and thousands of older shows on TV (Battistella & Pessot, 2019). Netflix provides the viewers with more shows, but they have to wait for a year for them to see any current cable or network TV shows. This is different from Hulu since it provides the viewers with current TV shows within 24 hours (Wayne, 2018). The two streaming innovations offer content creators and consumers a platform to highlight and access digital content. Nevertheless, there are many differences between Hulu and Netflix from their innovation to failures and successes.
Both Netflix and Hulu have had different journeys of innovation as they matured. Hulu has transformed over the past few years. During its inception, Hulu adopted the strategy of streaming full-length TV shows for free (Gomez-Uribe & Hunt, 2016). There is no other organization that had been able to provide free TV shows apart from Hulu, thus establishing its brand in the market. Over time, Hulu diversified its partnership by working along with the biggest television companies. The company also had an innovative and smart business plan that enabled three parties, including the TV companies, the viewer, and advertisers to benefit from its services (Ahikari et al., 2014). Hulu is aiming to develop an application for Apple’s iPhone that will work with both Wi-Fi and 3G networks. This will help improve the viewing experience for iPhone users and others.
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On the other hand, Netflix has a different journey from its inception and entry into the market. The foundation of the original Netflix business started through DVD rentals by mail. In 1999, the company launched a subscription service that allowed users to rent many DVDs on a free trial (Wayne, 2018). However, Netflix changed its business model as consumers' tastes changed. The company started to incorporate streaming from personal computers to include the changes. In 2003, Netflix was the most profitable streaming company reaching, a million subscribers. Today, Netflix has become the leading internet television network in the world with more than 50 million subscribers. Netflix has had enough time to capitalize on the opportunity of executing new innovative strategies as it enters the new market (Gome-Uribe & Hunt, 2016). The company is also currently pursuing a new strategy which entails binge viewing. Through this, subscribers can have access to viewing what they want with back to back seasons and episodes.
There are several factors that influence whether content providers and consumers support Netflix and Hulu. The type of compatible devices is one factor that influences the choices of consumers and content providers. Currently, Netflix has multiple numbers of compatible devices. Netflix subscribers can watch different shows and movies via Gaming consoles like Xbox 360, Wii, Ps3, Android devices, windows, Ios devices, D-LINK, Blu-ray players, and home theater systems (McDonald & Smith-Rowsey, 2016). Hulu Plus does not offer a lot of options, but it has other compatible devices like Amazon Kindle Fire, Samsung players, Nintendo 3DS, TiVo premiere, and many others. Subscribers are mostly inclined to services that offer a wide range of compatible devices. In this case, more viewers are likely to choose Netflix since it offers more devices.
Other factors that influence the choices of consumers and content providers include quality, price, speed of service, and content. Regarding quality, Hulu Plus steams its shows and movies in HD when available with the highest resolution of 720p (Wayne, 2018). On the other hand, Netflix offers HD movies and is capable of streaming videos of up to 1080P drawing more users than Hulu. Subscribers are more attracted to cheaper and consistent services. Netflix is much cheaper since its subscribers only pay 7.99 dollars to get unlimited movies without any advertisements. Viewers are attracted to a faster internet service in which Netflix outperforms Hulu with its minimum speed being 500kps (Adhikari et al., 2014). Subscribers are also inclined to Netflix since it offers more content than Hulu.
Several factors determine whether Hulu and Netflix will survive in the current market. The number of internet users is the main factor that will influence the survival of both Hulu and Netflix in the market (McDonald & Smith-Rowsey, 2016). If the current users and shift to online streaming continue unabated, Netflix and Hulu could enjoy steady growth in future without changing their business plans. However, this growth could be limited by ISPs process with bandwidth capping. This will force online services to consider other online revenue options such as subscription models and paid content. Customer loyalty is another factor that can help both Hulu and Netflix hold on to competition and survive the market. By producing more original series, customers will be more inclined to the service (Wayne, 2018). Netflix does this by producing shows such as Jessica Jones, House of Cards; Orange Is the New Black, and Daredevil. The types of products offered will help determine if the service providers will survive the market.
Hulu and Netflix have both had different successes and failures. Hulu’s most cited highpoints come from its easy, catalog free content both brad and deep, intuitive user interface, and a good search capability to finding contents (Adhikari et al., 2014). The company also teamed up with Fox, NBC, and News Corp to provide diverse content. Hulu’s company model has made it a trendsetter, but it can be easily replicated and continues to face new competition. On the other hand, Netflix has achieved its major successes by offering on-demand entertainment services that allow subscribers to control what they watch (McDonald & Smith-Rowsey, 2016). Viewers can also access Netflix using any device that is connected to the internet. Furthermore, it made a breakthrough when it started releasing original award-winning TV series like Orange Is the New Black and House of Cards. Netflix has also had several failures, including the 2008 collapse of database and the 2011 plan to the streaming business and DVD (Battistella & Pessot, 2019). The company nonetheless has learned to focus on its shortcomings.
Having two providers is beneficial to consumers since they are free to choose one service that offers them more content (McDonald & Smith-Rowsey, 2016). The content providers also benefit from this since their contents can be aired in by both internet providers; hence they will be able to gain more. It is more advantageous for content providers when there are different streaming platforms that can air their programs to reach more people.
References
Adhikari, V. K., Guo, Y., Hao, F., Hilt, V., Zhang, Z. L., Varvello, M., & Steiner, M. (2014). A measurement study of Netflix, Hulu, and a tale of three CDNs. IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking , 23 (6), 1984-1997.
Battistella, C., & Pessot, E. (2019). Investigating Companies’ Journey Toward Business Model Innovation Through Case Study Research . SAGE Publications Ltd.
Gomez-Uribe, C. A., & Hunt, N. (2016). The Netflix recommender system: Algorithms, business value, and innovation. ACM Transactions on Management Information Systems (TMIS) , 6 (4), 13.
McDonald, K., & Smith-Rowsey, D. (Eds.). (2016). The Netflix effect: Technology and entertainment in the 21st century . Bloomsbury Publishing, USA.
Wayne, M. L. (2018). Netflix, Amazon, and branded television content in subscription video-on-demand portals. Media, Culture & Society , 40 (5), 725-741.
