You sit comfortably on your couch. One hand grazes the bowl of salty, buttery popcorn on your side while your other hand grasps the TV remote that scrolls through hours of entertainment, waiting to be watched. Would you be this cozy in a movie theater? Probably not. The only thing that could paint this picture would be the beauty that is streaming services. 

There are endless amounts of streaming services, but this article will just focus on eight of the most popular ones. These include Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Apple TV+, Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video, and Peacock.

Netflix:

Netflix is a production company that was founded in 1997. It was originally a rent-by-mail DVD service. Many people believe that Netflix is the best streaming service. When asked what other streaming service could possibly dethrone Netflix, three out of three people said Disney+. 

6th grader Bryce Haniff said that it’s directed towards both adults and children. He went on to explain that it’s directed towards people who are already invested in different universes and that people have “nostalgia” for things that they watched as children. College student Christal Haniff added to her reason by saying that Disney+ has a “reputation”. 8th grader Isabella Alvarez also put out Hulu as a possible contender. 

In all honesty, Netflix has some pretty good content. But do you know what would make it better? If they stopped making grown adults play high school students. You’re going to sit there and tell me that all of these kids have clear skin. I think not.

Disney+:

Disney+ is a fairly new streaming service. It came out in November 2019, right before the world took a turn for the worse. Disney+ offers content from five different categories: Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic. 

Alvarez, B. Haniff, and C. Haniff all agreed that Marvel was definitely a contender when asked what they thought the best category was. Alvarez stated, “Marvel has been my favorite since forever. They let you think of things that can’t be possible. They put you in a whole new world where you can dream and do what you want.” B. Haniff also thought that Star Wars was one of the best categories, saying that Star Wars and Marvel offer great new releases and storylines that people try to keep up with. C. Haniff chose a category that not a lot of people would choose: Pixar. She explained, “Pixar because they have more content in terms of how many movies they have out. Toy Story goes back to like the 90’s. It has nostalgia.”  

If you’re reading this article and you use Disney+ for the National Geographic section, please let me know. 

HBO Max: 

HBO Max is also a new streaming service. It was only launched about one year ago in late May of 2020. HBO Max has a thing where they release movies onto their streaming service for free the first month that it comes out while the movie is also released in theaters. Everyone interviewed agreed that this idea has its pros and cons. C. Haniff said, “It’s a good idea because people won’t go to the cinemas, so people will stay at home and probably subscribe to their streaming service. It’s not good for the movie theaters because they won’t get the money. For the movie it would be good. More people would watch and talk about it. The movie would be accessible at home, so they’d probably make less money with HBO Max compared to the movie being released in theaters.” 

Alvarez also added that people can just take someone else’s account and watch the movie, which means that the movie would get less money if people share accounts instead of buying into the streaming service individually. B. Haniff thought that it was good for theaters to try and keep them alive because if people want a better “experience” and “quality” for the movie, they would go to theaters. 

HBO Max also has a lot of content from the DC universe. Listen, I’m a DC fan, but the recent DC movies are the equivalent to the year 2020. Except for like two movies. I won’t disrespect Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).

Hulu:

Hulu is a video on demand service controlled by The Walt Disney Company. It was officially launched in 2008. Hulu is known as the king of TV shows mainly because a lot of shows have their new episodes premiere on Hulu the day of or the day after it has aired on regular cable. B. Haniff thinks differently though. He believes that Disney+ could dethrone Hulu because they have “quality” over “quantity” with their shows. He said, “People were more excited for shows like The Mandalorian and sharing stuff about the show. Also, with Disney+ the shows on it are exclusive to that service while a lot of the shows on Hulu are also watchable on normal cable.” Both Alvarez and C. Haniff agree that Netflix could also beat out Hulu. Alvarez believes that Netflix deserves the title of king because it releases all of its content at the same time. Like, if a new season of a show is coming out or just a new show overall, all of the episodes would be released at once. C. Haniff made some good points when arguing her decision. She explained, “Netflix has a reputation with decent original shows. They’re also known for continuing shows that cable had cancelled which allows the shows to go on for a longer time. Like Orange is the New Black and You.” 

I haven’t used Hulu too much, but they have Shrek on their streaming service right now, so they’re good in my book.

Amazon Prime Video: 

Amazon Prime Video is a streaming and rental service that can be offered as a standalone service or as part of an Amazon’s Prime subscription. It was originally launched as Amazon Unbox back in 2006. While this streaming service is quite old, it doesn’t seem to be as popular as the others. 

To become more popular, Alvarez suggested, “Maybe get bigger brands to their name. Hulu and Netflix have better movies and stuff like that, so Amazon Prime Video could get more well-known stuff.” C. Haniff also agreed that Amazon Prime Video could put out better content. C.Haniff added, “They should build up their reputation. I can name like one thing from there. Most people use it because they have Prime accounts, so they just watch it because they have it.” B. Haniff also recommended that Amazon Prime Video could release more things for free since a lot of their content you have to pay for. He also added that he thought Amazon Prime Video was just a “money grab”. 

Amazon Prime Video is probably just another way for Jeff Bezos to get money because he clearly doesn’t have enough yet.

Peacock:

Peacock is another streaming service that was only launched recently. It came out in April of 2020. The basic version of Peacock is free, but it contains ads. 

When asked whether they prefer a free streaming service with ads or a streaming service that requires payment for a monthly subscription, but has no ads, B. Haniff and Alvarez declared that they would want a free streaming service with no ads. Alvarez said that in the end, she’d rather watch something with ads and pay nothing than watch something that she would have to pay a lot of money for. B. Haniff said, “I would rather have a free streaming service with ads because it’s free. It’s only a small amount of wait time while watching the ads.” C.Haniff disagrees though. She would rather have a streaming service with no ads that requires payment for a subscription. She explained that ads were kind of annoying and that she didn’t want “disturbances” while watching TV, claiming that it takes away from the “experience”. 

Paramount+:

Paramount+ is probably the newest streaming service on this list. It was only founded in March of 2021. It offers content from MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, CBS, the Smithsonian Channel, and it’s constantly adding various movies to its selection. When asked if they thought the streaming service would be a success, B.Haniff said, “It won’t do as well as the other streaming services, but it will do better than most. Parents will get their children to watch from there because of Nickelodeon and adults get content from there too. It won’t get as many viewers, but it will still be more directed towards families.” Alvarez said that she doesn’t think she will ever need it and added that if she doesn’t need it, many others won’t either. C. Haniff also believes that Paramount+ won’t be that successful. She said that they won’t do well because they have channels like the Smithsonian Channel and CBS and she can’t even name shows from there.

Apple TV+:

Apple TV+ is a streaming service that was developed by Apple Inc. and it was launched in November of 2019.

B. Haniff and Alvarez both believe that Apple as a company should stick to selling devices. B. Haniff said, “Their new items are already expensive. I feel like they’re just trying to get money. You get a free trial when you buy an Apple product, so they’re just trying to sell their streaming service. I don’t think it’s working. There isn’t much spotlight.” Alvarez also stated that she doesn’t know anyone who actually uses Apple TV+. She also said that she does believe that Apple is “just doing this for money” because “Apple is all about money”. She finished off by saying that she “doesn’t think it’s working”. C.Haniff had different opinions though. She explained, “They shouldn’t just stick to selling devices. They should branch out. They look like they have pretty good content. Give actors jobs and stuff. I do think they are just trying to get money, but good for them.” Although she does believe that Apple TV+ won’t rise to the level of Disney+ or Netflix because she doesn’t know anyone who watches or talks about Apple TV+.

When asked if they could only use one streaming service for the rest of their lives, what streaming service would they choose, B. Haniff and C. Haniff both chose Disney+. C. Haniff said that she chose Disney+ because of “childhood memories” and because almost everything that she “enjoys” is on there. B. Haniff agreed that he chose Disney+ because of the nostalgia. Meanwhile, Alvarez chose something different. She chose Netflix. She said, “It has a ton of good movies and TV shows.” 

B. Haniff  prefers to watch movies from his home. He said, “There will be less disturbances there and you will feel more comfortable in your home.” However, C. Haniff and Alvarez prefer movie theaters for watching movies. Alvarez said that she likes the whole “experience” even though it’s more expensive sometimes. C. Haniff also chose movie theaters for the experience. She explained, “It’s a different setting than being home all of the time. Also, I like seeing other people’s reactions.”

With streaming services constantly popping up, people are left to wonder if cable will be able to survive. Alvarez does think that cable will survive, but C. Haniff and B. Haniff disagree. B. Haniff proposed an idea and it was that cable has to air better shows to entice viewers. Find a channel that isn’t tied to a streaming service and show their content. C. Haniff gave her take on the matter, saying, “They could maybe not rerun the same things over and over again. Come out with better stuff. There’s people who don’t have cable, they just have streaming services and it’s cheaper. Cable could also be less expensive.” 

Streaming services are a big part of everyone’s lives, so what would happen if they were to disappear? Everyone interviewed agreed that people would riot. Alvarez said that streaming services were a part of everyone’s lives and B. Haniff stated that people would be mad because they would have to go back to cable. C. Haniff also said, “They would riot because some people haven’t finished watching their shows yet.”

When asked if streaming services somehow turned into real people and got into a fight, who would win, some scarily accurate responses were made. Alvarez was the calmest when she simply said that Netflix would win because they have the best reputation. B. Haniff explains, “HBO Max would win because they have the most violent content which would make it more stronger in combat and it would have better strategic advantages. Paramount+ would lose. I think it’s more directed towards children as a whole because all of the commercials I see for it have things like Dora and Spongebob. So, they have the least violent content.” C. Haniff also had a detailed response and described what type of people each streaming service would be like. She said, “Paramount+ is the new kid. Amazon Prime Video and Peacock are the shy kids who wouldn’t fight. Apple TV+ is the rich kid, so they wouldn’t get their hands dirty. HBO Max is also new. They’re a contender, but they wouldn’t win. Hulu is also a contender, but they wouldn’t win. Netflix has been fighting a while, so they’re fatigued. Disney+ appeals to both old and young kids, so he’s a fan favorite that will win.”

While in quarantine, streaming services have been a big help to people because they allow their users to be kept entertained. Alvarez agrees that without streaming services like Hulu, Disney+, and Netflix, she wouldn’t have been able to watch her favorite shows. B. Haniff simply agreed that streaming services did indeed help him through quarantine and C. Haniff explained that streaming services served as a “distraction” from real life.

Some of the movies and TV shows that they watched were: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision, The Mandalorian, The Crown, Cobra Kai, Demon Slayer, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Black Mirror, High School Musical: The Musical The Series, Godzilla vs. Kong, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and various different true crime documentaries on Netflix. 

Now that you’ve come to the end of this article, you can go back to binge watching your seventh show of the week.