Welcome to the Future

Well the cats out of the bag, Netflix is up, HBO is down. Netflix is an online streaming service which streams archive shows, in addition to old and current movies and original content. HBO on the other hand is a cable channel, which originally focused on boxing, specials and stand up comedy, and which now focuses mainly on drama and comedy series, including Game of Thrones, GIRLS, LOOKING, The Sopranos, Oz, Sex and the City, and Veep.

Well, the big advantage that Netflix has is price, the service costs about 8 dollars a month, fairly cheap for the sheer quantity of shows and movies available, and the flexibility of the service. HBO on the other hand, costs 11-20 dollars a month, significantly more considering that this is a fairly unflexible service, and that you still have to pay the subscription in between Game of Thrones and GIRLS. The quality of these channels is comparable, both make great original series, and Netflix original shows include Orange Is The New Black, House of Cards, Arrested Development and Hemlock Grove. Both channels produce great origianl content and both also produce TV films, Netflix was recently nominated for an Academy Award for The Square.

The other real advantage of Netflix is it's flexibility, the series allows you to watch series whenever, and most importantly, it allows you to binge watch. Netflix, being an internet subscription, also allows for watching on whatever device you want, wherever you want, if you move house, you don't have to contact your cable subscriber, believe me, this is an advantage.

Netflix is also a service which is really adapted to the way in which people watch TV, our modern lives aren't adapted to watching scheduled TV, even the idea of recording something takes too much organization, and you also have to be aware of the series in advance, and so if you are a little late on the game, you're out. More importantly Netflix allows you to binge watch series, which is how most of us like to watch TV, people don't really want to watch a little bit of something every day, they want to watch their favorite shows in a five hour block. Netflix has a policy of releasing all of their shows in a big block, and allowing you to watch them as you please.

So what can we do to save HBO? Well firstly the channel needs to launch an online subscription service, so that people can watch as they please. Secondly they need a more appropriate price for people who only want to watch certain series, and have little interest in watching boxing. HBO already have an on demand service, but an internet subscription service would really help them in keeping up with Netflix. HBO is a fantastic channel and has launched some of the best series in recent television history, all they need to do is provide a service which is more appropriate to the way people actually watch television today.