Netflix and Amazon are not flinching when it comes to their futures. The dueling streaming platforms are responding to the growing competition taking on the medium of SVOD. Apparently feeling the heat from big-name competitors entering the ever-growing world of streaming, Netflix and Amazon are set to more than double their current library of original content. A game plan that will give consumers even more to choose from when they sit down to stream.
Netflix is planning to further its distance from the rest of the streaming pack by commissioning more than 250 original series, according to a new study by Ampere Analysis, per THR. With those series added to its current slate of 229 originals, Netflix's library will soon stand at more than double its current total, with upward of 479 original series comprising its future catalog. Amazon, which currently totals its originals at 105 series, will add a similar number of new originals to its inventory, doubling its current amount.
Amazon's order will therefore not bridge the gap already created by Netflix's current number of original series. It is nevertheless a huge step forward for Netflix's arguably main rival and places the two streamers with a combined total of original programming that more than doubles their current library. That said, the kind of shows they are ordering is where the two streaming platforms diverge.
Amazon is angling for a more dramatic slate of new originals than Netflix, having ordered 12% more titles classified as dramas than its chief competition. Netflix is ordering up a slate of programming that emphasizes comedy and science fiction. It is a choice that provides an intriguing window into what the streaming giant has seen working among its subscribers. Despite the critical success of the prestige drama The Crown and the crime thriller Ozark, the study indicates Netflix's main genre focus is veering elsewhere.
Considering that the streaming giant has found huge success with the comedies like Glow and the sci-fi centered series Stranger Things and Dark, it is difficult to argue with where they are leaning. Amazon is set to bring some especially strong competition to the latter genre with its rescue of the critically acclaimed and audience adored sci-fi drama, The Expanse.
With the success of the action drama Jack Ryan and the comedy The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel among others, Amazon is preparing to close in on its rivalry with Netflix. Let the battle continue! The more the two compete, the vaster amount of content will be available for subscribers to stream, which is always a good thing. Both streaming platforms are gearing up for a massive fall as both Netflix and Amazon have new content rolling out throughout the remainder of the year.
