Saturday, January 21, 2017

Streaming Video Power Rankings: Week 43 (Special #HereWeGo edition)

1) Netflix: One event this week made it obvious that Netflix is number one this week and, for all practical purposes, is still the clear #1 in streaming video and will be for the foreseeable future.

It wasn't the debut of Jason Momoa's Frontier nor the arrival of more Voltron nor the announcement of a premiere date for the next set of House of Cards episodes. It wasn't the addition of vintage He-Man and She-Ra, nor was it the Neal Brennan standup special, nor the original film Take the 10.

I'm talking about a news item regarding a project that won't even be ON Netflix until  "late 2017." Jerry Seinfeld is taking Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee--the whole library and upcoming episodes--to the service (in addition to two standup specials and possibly other projects). The telling thing to me is the reaction. Look at the comments wherever the story is posted, and you will see people saying things like, "Good, finally it's on Netflix," or, "Now there's no reason to watch Crackle." I know I'm glad I don't have to struggle with Crackle's crummy interface to see the show. Netflix is perceived as the industry leader and rightfully so.

2) Amazon Prime: Not a huge week for Amazon, but I have to be selfish here (because I am so detached and objective every other week) and say that Prime Video offers fodder for a podcast episode we're taping this weekend, so I have to give it props.

3) YouTube: What a joy it is to hear a song, mock it, then be able to go to YouTube and rediscover the music video, which is even funnier.  I hate to leave you hanging, but the song/video deserves its own post.  Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, I have another post planned touching on some content one of my new favorite uploaders presented this week, but since I feel I should name at least one specific thing, I'll mention the promo clips for A.K.A. Pablo, Norman Lear's sitcom flop showcasing Paul Rodriguez and a Latino family. It's funny seeing the attempt to link this new family to the Bunkers and the Jeffersons; it's even funnier to see Hector Elizondo's toupee.

4) Hulu: Broadcast TV is coming back after the holiday break, so it's time to remember Hulu is there for us.

5) TuneIn: See #3. I enjoyed various 1980s stations quite a bit this week.

6) Pub-D-Hub: Any week that brings an episode of Richard Diamond is a success, even if the quality is ecch. I also give credit for the addition of 99 River Street (1953), though I really recommend the recent Kino Blu-Ray release with the Eddie Muller commentary!

7) PIX11: back on the charts on the strength of a new Magic Garden section offering Carole and Paula introducing vintage clips from the show. But while I enjoy seeing old news stories about, say, John Wayne's terminal cancer, I'd like to see some more non-bummer material from the PIX news vaults.

8) SeeSo: I had no idea the writer of Blackadder had a new sitcom about William Shakespeare on BBC2 last year, but it's now on SeeSo...and so is Blackadder. This is an intriguing development.

9) HBO: The Young Pope debuted this week, Bill Maher returned, and Sarah Jessica Parker and The Rock won People's Choice Awards for their respective HBO series. No, that last one is not meaningful, but I felt I needed a third item.

10) The CW: I'm all caught up now on my CW "stories," and this spot is mainly in anticipation for the "hatewatching" event of the year: the premiere of Riverdale this week and the (I hope) debut the next day on this Roku channel.

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