Netflix VS. Hulu: My Personal Struggle

Kawan Yarbrough, Staff Writer

With today being such a large technology driven world, a person can do most things on a device that 15 years ago was unheard of. One of these things would include streaming movies and television shows. To simplify this, streaming is being able to watch your favorite shows and movies on your phone, computer, TV, or tablet and paying a monthly fee of just under $10, in most cases. Two of today’s biggest streaming networks are Netflix and Hulu. Both services allow you to watch episodes and seasons of the numerous TV shows, along with movies, that are on the sight. Both streaming sites are efficient as far as quality and pricing, but I have frustrations with both and could not answer which is better if I were asked.

 

I have personal experience with Netflix and feel as if it’s one of the greatest creations on this planet. I didn’t know I enjoyed binge watching TV shows before I got Netflix in 2014, which is subsequently how I spent my summer that year, for the most part. Netflix allows me to watch season 3 of American Horror Story all I want on my laptop at home, or on my phone if I’m out. Another good thing about Netflix is simply Orange Is The New Black, a show of which I became addicted to after watching two episodes. Given that OITNB is a Netflix show, you can’t watch it on any other site. Definitely one of my favorite things about Netflix is that it has no commercials or advertisements while watching.

 

The only thing that bothers me about Netflix is the fact that shows and movies are taken off randomly. For instance, shows that I watched growing up like Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody were on the site 2 years ago, but around late 2014 or early 2015, those shows and few other things I liked were no longer available for viewing. This happened again last year when Mean Girls, one of my all time and forever favorite movies, was mysteriously taken off of the site. But, it’s sequel that I don’t like at all was still on. I was outraged and found this out, but that didn’t last long due to the fact that the movie was soon put back on the site.

 

Hulu works about the same way as Netflix does, just with a few differences. With Hulu, you have access to full seasons of older shows that are not on Netflix. Hulu also allows you to watch new episodes of your favorite shows the day after they air. The only drawback I see with Hulu is the ads during the episodes and I couldn’t watch Orange Is The New Black when the new season premiered in June. Other than that, I love that Hulu has shows that I can’t watch anywhere else online like Sabrina, The Teenage Witch.

 

I love the idea of being able to watch TV shows and movies anywhere I want, whenever I want, which is absolutely brilliant, especially with that the fact that I can watch on my phone. As for which streaming service between Netflix and Hulu that my loyalty lies with, cannot be answered. There are pros and cons with the both of them, but both deliver great service and content. I just hope within the future Netflix brings back shows they took off and old shows I used to love, or Hulu gets rid of the ads and makes Orange Is The New Black available for streaming on their site.