Netflix Originals Content Crushed Amazon in 2016
Symphony Advanced Media tracks original series’ customer engagement and finds continuous Netflix dominance
Published By: Ken Bock on January 14, 2017 11:48 am EST
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While almost every major player in the video streaming space is investing heavily on original programming, no one is able to compete with Netflix, Inc. ( NASDAQ:NFLX ), the industry pioneer, in that regard. After spending about $5 billion on content, the company’s original series have started to bear fruits in terms of high viewership.
Business Insider reported Netflix’s original series absolutely crushed Amazon.com, Inc. ( NASDAQ:AMZN ) and Hulu in 2016. The publication cited new data collected by Symphony Advanced Media of 25 most watched TV series over the last 12 months suggests that Netflix’s originals completely dominated. Nine of the most watched 10 series belong to Netflix, with just one Hulu’s series 11.22.63 at 9th.
The Netflix originals in the top 10 includes Orange is the New Black Season 4, Stranger Things, Fuller House, Marvel’s Luke Cage, Marvel’s Daredevil, House of Cards Season 4, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Season 2, The Ranch, and  Amanda Knox in descending order. Here’s a chart of the top 10 popular original series of 2016 shared by Business Insider:
Interestingly, 21 of 25 original series analyzed by Symphony Advanced Media were Netflix originals, including the Golden Globe winner The Crown and Narcos based on the Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar. Apart from 11.22.63, Hulu’s The Path came in at number 20 and Amazon Prime Video’s two series Goliath (24th) and Bosch (25th) made it to the overall list.
Symphony CEO Charles Buchwalter said in a statement: “Netflix ruled the streaming original roost during 2016, and despite some notable moves by Amazon later in the year, it appears that Netflix’s U.S. leadership will continue into 2017.” Symphony uses its own technology to track user engagement across online streaming platforms through computers, mobile phones, tables, and television. The data focus on series engagement in the first 35 days after the release in the US. Netflix’s Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life and Amazon’s The Grand Tour, two extremely popular original series, were unable to make it to the list because of lack of data availability of the first 35 days, as both of them were released in late November.