US consumers view Netflix original content even more favorably than last year — here's why, and what it means for HBO (NFLX, HBO)

US consumers still think Netflix has the best original programming among premium TV and over-the-top (OTT) subscription video services, according to an AlphaWise/Morgan Stanley survey .

Consumer Perception of Best Original Programming On Premium OTT Services Business Insider Intelligence

About 40% of US consumers feel Netflix has the best original content, up 1% year-over-year (YoY). The next highest ranked service was HBO, with 11% saying it had the best original content, down from 14% last year. Hulu ranked a distant third, but grew slightly YoY, with 6% saying it had the best originals, versus 4% last year.

Netflix's growing lead in terms of consumer perception of its original content is most threatening for HBO, given its brand identity and high share of original content.

The stakes of declining perception of its original content are likely higher for HBO. That's because being universally considered the gold standard for prestige original content is essentially the network's brand itself consider its tagline, "It's not TV. It's HBO."

Also, HBO's content library is composed of the highest share of original content among OTT platforms, meaning the network has the most to lose when it comes to perception of its originals. More than one-third ( 35% ) of HBO's overall US content library is comprised of originals, per Ampere Analysis.

Percentage of Catalog That's Original Content Business Insider Intelligence

We think Netflix is winning on consumer perception of its originals because it has effectively synonymized its brand with original content.While HBO has endeavored to differentiate its content quality as a cut above the rest, consumer perception still overwhelmingly favors Netflix.

Netflix has likely achieved this status in two ways:

Scale and volume of content production.Netflix's growing consumer mindshare might simply be the result of its sheer volume of originals output, boosting the likelihood that some of those shows will appeal to at least some consumers.In 2018, Netflix produced some 700 original titles, totalingnearly 1,500 hours in 2018, per Quartz analysis.For its part, HBO can't play Netflix's scale game even as it grows its original scripted output by 50% YoY to 150 hours in 2019, that's just a fraction of Netflix's content outlay.In addition, the platform's recommendations algorithm likely reinforces positive perception of Netflix's content among subs because it surfaces stuff that viewers are likely to enjoy, based on past viewing.
Brand identity, consistency, and strength.Netflix aggressively reinforces that a show is an original with its Netflix Original branding, helping further synonymize the streamer with original content. And Netflix's scale gives it plenty of opportunities to reinforce its brand at the show level far more than HBO. For its part, HBO focuses less on branding at an individual show level, instead concentrating more on its reputation as a premium destination overall. Since it can't as easily compete on content volume, HBO needs to double down on hihglighting its individual shows as originals to move the needle on consumer perception.

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