Netflix Has The Best Original Content, According To 39% Of Americans

In a new 2021 survey, Wall Street analyst firm Morgan Stanley has confirmed something we already know: Netflix is popular. The results, which were reported by Variety, indicate 39% of respondents in the United States feel the streaming service most consistently offers the best original programming.

The survey also indicates that, again, like most Americans, respondents pay for 2.5 streaming-video services. That figure is reportedly up from 2.3 in 2020 and 1.8 in 2019, a figure that indicates a trend over streaming's overall growing prominence--but it isn't clear in the reported data what is meant by subscribing to a fraction of a service.

What is clearer is why Netflix has remained so viable for customers. Via Variety, the top reasons cited for subscribing to Netflix include "broad selection of content" (55%), "good original programming" (51%), "adds content I like" (49%), and "no commercials" (46%).

Netflix's dominance in the space has so far arguably never been in jeopardy--and you could argue that the market getting more competitive with other options has only made the service more of a giant. Earlier this year, the company reported that it now has more than 200 million subscribers, plans to release a new movie every single week of 2021, and is projected to spend $19 billion on content this year.

After Netflix, the data has a steep dropoff to the next best streaming service--Amazon Prime rated as the best only among 12% of polled Americans, Hulu and Disney+ are tied at 7%, and Apple TV+ is at 2%. It really says a lot about the streaming landscape (and Netflix) that "don't know," for respondents who weren't sure which streaming service had the best original programming, technically clocked in at second place behind Netflix with 23% of the vote.

Check out what Netflix has on tap with new arrivals and classic content for this month.