Once King of the Streams, new competition has challenged Netflix’s seat on the throne.

With the emergence of services such as Peacock, HBO Max, and Disney+, Netflix has lost a significant amount of licensed content, including Friends, The Office, and all Disney-owned content. Netflix is still considered worth it, due to the original content and lack of ads.

The basic Netflix plan is $8.99, which gives users the ability to stream on one screen at a time at standard definition. With the more expensive plans comes high definition and the ability to view on more screens. All plans are ad free and allow the user to watch everything the service has to offer. Hulu’s basic plan is $5.99, however it includes ads. To go ad free, the plan cost $12.99. Both plans allow two devices to watch simultaneously. 

The ad free aspect of Netflix played a large role in why people stay subscribed, compared to Hulu and Peacock, which both have commercial breaks. 

Netflix’s value also depends on the type of streamer you are. Netflix is great for drama fans and people who are okay watching eight hour long episodes at once. Disney+ uses the method of releasing one episode of a show every week, making it impossible to binge the show in one day unless you’re willing to wait for the season to end. 

Up until recent years, Netflix was great for comedies, having shows such as Friends, The Office, and Parks and Recreation. Now Netflix is more drama focused, and if you’re a fan of short sitcoms, Hulu or a network specific service may be for you. Hulu is superior to Netflix in regards to turn around times. While a new season takes months to come to Netflix, for many shows, the new episode is on Hulu the next day. 

Licensed shows account for 63% of Netflix’s viewing hours, according to Forbes. Going into the future, Netflix will need to continue to improve on their original content and consistently release shows and movies that attract viewers and give them an experience they can’t get anywhere else. Netflix would benefit from creating a major franchise that becomes iconic to pop culture and gathers subscribers, in the same way that people subscribe to Disney+ just for Star Wars. They’ve started down this path with Stranger Things, but need to do more. As of now, Netflix is worth it, if you are anti-advertisement and okay with mostly original content.