Netflix dominates HBO in how much people love its original TV shows and movies, and its lead is growing
- Netflix is dominating its competition in consumer perception of original programming, according to new research from Morgan Stanley.
- 39% of respondents in a Morgan Stanley survey said that Netflix had the "best original programming" - more than double HBO's second-place tally of 14%.
- The subscriber count for HBO's premium streaming service is surging, however.
- HBO Now is projected to rapidly expand its lead in domestic subscribers among premium OTT services by the end of 2018.
Netflix's original programming is blowing away its competition in the eyes of consumers, but the subscriber count for HBO's streaming service is surging, according to new research from Morgan Stanley and Alphawise.
Netflix will spend an estimated $8 billion on content this year. An increasing percentage of those funds will go toward the production of original shows and movies, as Netflix moves away from licensing content from studios like Disney, which is slated to debut a Netflix competitor in 2019.
And Netflix's massive investment in its "Netflix Originals" appears to be increasingly paying off, as favorability for the service's original programming has grown in each year of Morgan Stanley's annual survey.
In the firm's 2018 survey, 39% of respondents said Netflix had the "best original programming" among all subscription services, a 6% rise from 33% last year.
Netflix's figure more than doubled HBO, which came in second place this year with 14% of respondents, roughly the same figure it posted in 2017. Amazon Prime (5%), Hulu (4%), Showtime (3%), and Starz (2%) followed. 32% of survey respondents answered "Don't know," while Cinemax, Encore, Epix, and "Other" rounded out the survey with 1% or less each.
Morgan Stanley wrote that the second season of Netflix's "Stranger Things," released in October 2017, was likely the "largest driver" of Netflix's increase in favorability for this year's survey.
The firm also projects a rapid expansion in the reach of HBO's premium streaming service, HBO Now, which is expected to build on its lead among "over-the-top" (OTT) services from traditional media outlets.
By the end of the year, HBO Now is projected to reach 7 million US subscribers - more than double the 3.1 million subscribers that Showtime and CBS All Access are projected to reach in 2018.
Overall, HBO's cable and premium subscriptions reached a count of nearly 38 million US subscribers at the end of 2017, while Netflix reached nearly 53 million domestic subscribers, according to Morgan Stanley.
But it's not an "either/or" situation for the two entertainment giants. Morgan Stanley notes that 53% of Netflix subscribers in 2018 are also subscribed to at least one premium network, with many holding an HBO subscription.
HBO Now's rapid growth in 2017 led a massive increase in OTT premium subscribers across all providers. Total OTT premium subscribers hit 10 million last year, which more than doubled 2016's year-end count.