by Zach Jones

With the price of cable constantly growing, the low-priced alternative of a streaming service remains appealing to any consumer. Whether that be Netflix for it’s vast library of exclusives, Hulu for it’s up to date television series, or HBO Max for it’s selection of movies. What divides all of them and creates a competitive market though is those exact differences, and knowing which of these streaming services is the best is necessary for high school students wondering which they should spend their hard earned money on.

   High school students should purchase HBO Max as their streaming service of choice for its massive amounts of popular movies, TV shows, and direct-to-streaming movies during the pandemic.

   For starters HBO Max has a large library of classic movies that no other streaming service can match. It features a massive selection of movies across each genre: comedy, drama, horror, suspense, etc. From animated movies like the entire Studio Ghibli collection (My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away) to live-action suspenseful comic-book movies like The Dark Knight trilogy. Along with this, HBO Max has also become the hub of new releases amidst the pandemic. For instance, Wonder Woman 1984, the sequel to the movie Wonder Woman starring Gal Gadot, dropped exclusively on HBO Max amid the quarantine. As the pandemic continues and streaming services continue to grow, HBO Max will continue to host several movies long before you’ll even get the chance to watch them elsewhere, such as the upcoming Godzilla and Justice League movies.

   Meanwhile, HBO Max also has an excellent selection of TV shows. For example, HBOmax has a large selection of comic book TV shows like Teen Titans, Doom Patrol, and Young Justice; teen TV favorites such as Samurai Jack and Adventure Time; anime such as the recent hit Jujutsu Kaisen; and critically acclaimed dramas like Watchmen and Lovecraft Country. While it may not have the heavy-hitters like The Office or Friends, it clearly makes up for it with the selection of TV shows combined with the already large selection of movies.

   All together, HBO Max has a library with something for everyone. Some would argue that the lack of a trial period alone is enough to warrant not purchasing HBO Max. However, HBO Max truly does have something for everyone, so even a one-month purchase of HBO Max would satisfy practically any consumer looking to watch TV and movies, regardless of whether or not they continue to stream through HBO Max.

   Due to its large selection of movies and television, high school students looking to find a streaming service to purchase should choose HBO Max over competitors like Netflix.

by Josh Smith

Ever since Netflix started providing a service that allowed consumers to order media to arrive in the mail, there has been a desire to depart from the norm of cable television. This landscape has vastly changed in the past decade though, for not only is Netflix entirely digital, but there’s a litany of other streaming services that have joined the game to dispute the near monopoly Netflix had on the streaming service industry. Whether it be Hulu, HBO Max or now Peacock that are trying to knock Netflix at their own game, none have succeeded in my opinion. Netflix is still the king because of the wealth of new content that cycles through the service as well as the wealth of new Netflix originals that are allowing the service to breathe new life.

  High school students should purchase Netflix as their streaming service of choice because of the absolute variety of content that may vary region to region, but which maintains a strong grip in the heart of those looking to avoid steep cable bills across the world. 

   Netflix has the largest library that goes back two decades, and even while there has been content taken off and added throughout the years, there is a classic list of television shows and movies that make it incredibly worthwhile. From iconic, gritty series such as The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad from AMC to cute stories of a father and their son in the form of Chef–these are just a few of the examples of third party content on the service that paint a good picture of the sheer variety that you would have to choose from.

   Not only that, but it has been a known great service for those that enjoy anime as well, for it remains a great place to watch all-time favorites such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Naruto and FullMetal Alchemist just to name a few. As we are spending more time inside because of either COVID or once-in-a-generation snow storms, we are stuck with a vast amount of time on our hands, a lot of which many of us don’t know what to do with, so we turn to streaming services to binge content. Netflix is the go-to streaming service that many just wouldn’t go without. It’s the classic, and whether people are wanting to stay with the service to enjoy these old classics or the wealth of new, original content, there is something for everyone.

While some would argue that the saturation of the streaming service market is reason alone to avoid older picks such as Netflix. That, in my mind isn’t a good view of it though, for not only does the service have a relatively low price to many of the other services, but for the price it is still the service that moviegoers cannot go without even if it is just for the one-month free trial that the service offers. 

Due to it’s classic selection of not only television shows, but movies, high school students looking to purchase a streaming service should stick with Netflix, instead of newer services such as HBO Max.