Netflix has half the shows it did four years ago, and one of its most popular original series might’ve crashed its system. Believe it or not, these are good things for the streaming service giant.
Netflix has fewer selections that it did four years ago. The popular streaming service has half the titles than it did in 2012, according to Exstreamist. Sources have Netflix’s total title number close to 11,000 movies and TV shows four years ago. That number has dwindled to just over 5,000 titles currently available in its library. The decline is believed to be the result of major content owners decreasing the distribution rights given to Netflix as well as Netflix own decreases in expenditures on third party content.
Despite Netflix’s decline in third party content, the streaming service continues to strike gold with much of its original content. Shows such as Stranger Things, House of Cards, Orange is the New Black and others remain favorites with a growing number of devoted fans. Yes, it’s true that Netflix originals haven’t outdone HBO’s original series. (Thanks for pointing that out, Stuart Sweet.) But I argue that the streaming service is still relatively new to the original series game. If Netflix continues to invest in original programming, who knows what the future holds? Perhaps this is part of the Netflix’s overall strategy.
Still concerned about the size of Netflix’s catalog? Check out what the nearly 3,000 hours’ worth of content that’s available to stream this month.
Luke Cage Crashes Netflix?
In other Netflix news, Luke Cage crashed Netflix last week. At least that’s what some people believe. Netflix’s original Marvel comics series debuted on Friday, September 30. The streaming service crashed at about 3pm EST the following day. Is this a coincidence?
While Netflix has not released any information on the cause of the outage, many speculate that it was due to an overabundance of people binge watching Luke Cage. If Twitter is any indication, many people’s weekend was ruined by this rather unfortunately incident. The majority of these included hashtags such as #netflixdown and #LukeCage.
A few hours after the outage, Netflix tweeted that its engineers brought the streaming service back online. Apparently, not all heroes wear capes. At least that’s what Netflix’s tweet stated. And to those of us who love streaming, the engineers’ deeds could be considered rather heroic. Netflix has yet to release information on what caused the outage, which has led to the speculation that heavy loads of Luke Cage viewers inadvertently caused the crash. Netflix’s Luke Cage is based off the Marvel comics character of the same name.
Netflix Looks Strong Going Forward
Call me a silly-heart or a dreamer, but I like to think that the demand for Luke Cage caused Netflix to crash. It fits in well with my theory that Netflix’s original programming helps make streaming so popular. While I still love some shows on network TV, I also love streaming original series on Netflix and other services. These shows aren’t bound by the constraints of broadcast television. What can I say? I need my weekly dose of dark heroes and ultra-violence, and I get my fix on Netflix. Let’s just hope there are no more crashes at the popular streaming service!
