Netflix prices have skyrocketed in recent years. The cost of Netflix for new users in April 2014 was €8,99 for its standard plan. It's now $13.99 (£9.99 / AU$15.99) per month, or $17.99 (£13.99 / AU$19.99) per month if you want the 4K tier. Significantly, the competition from Netflix is also getting more expensive in some cases. Disney Plus will increase its monthly prices by €1 in the US on March 26 and has already raised Disney Plus UK to €7.99 per month in the UK by launching a new branch of content on Star. The number one problem with transmission is usually the increase in cost and choice. Surely few people want to spend more than $40 a month on streaming services, but that's exactly what you'll be doing right now in the US if you subscribe to Disney Plus ($7), Netflix's standard tier. (€14), HBO Max (€15)) and the ad-supported tier of Paramount Plus (€6). And there are many more services besides these. So, as the first in a series of articles, we're going to take a second look at each major service to see if it's worth keeping in 2021. We'll start with Netflix, the dominant premium subscription streamer. Is Netflix still worth it in 2021? Next, we will analyze the factors that determine it and give you an answer.
Where you live can determine the value of Netflix
(Image credit: Netflix) In the United States, where more streaming services are available, Netflix has lost valuable pieces of its library: The Office is big, and Disney's previous selection of titles has dwindled to a handful of titles. following Disney. More 'launch. Still, the service regularly gets big, old movies from other studios (The Social Network, Batman Begins, and Training Day are just a few of the highlights you can watch right now), and it still has a great selection of original series that They are not from Netflix. worth streaming, like The Good Place, Chappelle's Show, or New Girl. It's clear the service is reacting to a market where all the places it used to license movies to are (belatedly) trying to launch their own streaming services, but it's definitely holding up. That said, it's hard not to miss the old world where Netflix was the only real game in town. In the UK, Netflix is feeling particularly fit. In addition to ongoing local originals like Sex Education and Top Boy, with many more to come, Netflix's general library differs significantly from that of the United States. For example, the UK version has niceties like Studio Ghibli's library of animated movies, as well as a sequel to some very funny American sitcoms that you just can't get on the service in America: The Office, Superstore, Parks and Recreation and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, for example. It is also home to a number of US imports made by other studios, such as RuPaul's Drag Race, Star Trek: Discovery, and DC Series Titans, as well as every episode of Rick and Morty. Netflix Originals are consistent around the world, but these local factors are worth considering when assessing the value of the service as a whole.
Netflix Originals Are Generally Mixed, But There Are Many
(Image credit: Netflix) When Netflix began rolling out its original show with House of Cards, it seemed like a statement of intent: that the service perhaps saw itself as a rival to HBO or other hotbeds of style shows. high-profile with great movie actors. This is how it would stand out as a departure from original shows, turning fantasy television into something of an arms race.
Over time, it became clear that Netflix saw itself as more inclusive than that. Reality shows like Love is Blind, documentaries like Tiger King, or the service's many cooking shows are just as important to Netflix now as House of Cards was back then.
Rather, Netflix's identity was solidified as a service designed to appeal to everyone - everything from anime to children's entertainment is part of the package, here.
But that doesn't mean premium TV has disappeared on Netflix. The Crown is still a serious contender for the award, as is the success of The Queen's Gambit. The Witcher seems like something that only really existed because Game of Thrones, a big-budget production, came first and proved viable for Netflix to similarly invest in a big fantasy drama.
Would The Queen's Gambit have become a hit in 2020 if it wasn't on Netflix? Possible, but not certain: It starred as a rising star in Anya Taylor-Joy, and it was directed by Scott Frank, a writer-director experienced with everything from Get Shorty to Logan to his name. But Netflix's huge subscriber base (200 million users worldwide and more) absolutely helped make the show a quick viral hit.
In fact, wherever you are in the world, you can get Netflix and your library of original content will follow you everywhere. It breaks down the barriers of something becoming a global phenomenon: It's a long way from the good old days, when something like Desperate Housewives or Lost would show up on American TV, and other countries would have to wait for a local broadcaster to do so. choose. aloft.
In short, Netflix can be an instant hit.
When the streamer released The Queen's Gambit, it went all over the place. Perhaps this period chess drama could have been a hit if it had started on an American network and slowly spread around the world. But sometimes it seems like Netflix content is a perfect fit for the platform, and that was one of those times. If you didn't have Netflix, you may have missed a massive TV event.
Even if Netflix doesn't have a huge property like Star Wars or Marvel, it's been shown that it can dominate the pop culture conversation without anything like it.
Essentially, Netflix is designed to bring you the same types of programming you find elsewhere, but in one place. It tries to be a one-stop destination for all your entertainment needs, which is different from Disney Plus, which feels more specifically geared towards families, at least in the US.
So Netflix Originals won't always be aimed at you. And that can mean you can go a month or so without something you really want to watch, which isn't a problem limited to Netflix.
App experience remains world-class
(Image credit: Future) When a new service launches without a watchlist feature, which happened last week with Paramount Plus, our immediate impulse is to compare a service's functionality to Netflix. That's because it remains the highest watermark of a streaming app's design and breadth of functionality. Not everyone likes Netflix's algorithmic approach to highlighting content, which is why competitors like Disney Plus and HBO Max have embraced more organized libraries and branded sections in their apps. But really, for a service with as many things going on as Netflix, the way it might guess what you'd like is kind of a romance, and you can always dismiss the suggestions and watch something else. If nothing else, with Netflix your subscription fee still gives you a great technical experience.
So should you cancel your Netflix subscription in 2021?
No, we don't think so. It's certainly easy to see that there are months where you don't feel it in the content Netflix streams, but overall, we're pretty happy with the volume of originals coming to the service. This year alone, we're excited to see The Witcher season 2, Sex Education season 3, and Stranger Things season 4, each of which are absolutely pivotal to pop culture when they land. That being said, streaming services are a luxury. And we live in tough financial times for many people, so if you feel like you can live without Netflix shows for a few months, canceling them might not be the worst thing in the world. The US and UK have plenty of free (or at least paid for UK users) streaming options that probably have something you want to watch. In the US these include Pluto TV and the free tier of Peacock, and in the UK you have BBC iPlayer and All4 amongst others. At the end of the day, FOMO is the weapon of these services, which is why they go for originals so much that they get people talking. You do not want to end up with a large number of monthly bills for services that you are not going to use. However, we don't think that's the case for Netflix. We've found that it's still central to our streaming lives, even though not all original shows do.