Which to choose, HBO or Netflix?

The Shallow Man is facing a dilemma that many of you, dear readers will be familiar with. So there are two people in your life, one has been around for several years now and was stunning and impressive to begin with but now is just a little bit high maintenance. The other, is a good honest hard worker, who never ceases to entertain. Wonderful with kids and never dull, in fact you’re spending more and more time with the hard worker and less with the high maintenance and sometimes unreliable partner. The question is if you had to make a choice which would you choose? Which brings me to the subject of today’s post, HBO or Netflix?

HBO and Netflix are both subscription based content providers, offering lots of TV shows and movies on demand, if you had to choose between one, which would it be? HBO or Netflix? Here are some pointers to assist with decision making.

HBO or Netflix? About HBO

Rather than download content from newsgroups, (which he never would) the Shallow Man decided that the best way to serve his Game of Thrones addiction was to sign up to a subscription with HBO for 14.99 Euros a month. At the time this seemed like good value. In addition to Game of Thrones was the outstanding The Newsroom and Boardwalk Empire. For the Shallow Man there was also the incredibly far fetched but filled with enough explosions and sex to keep a smile on my face Strike Back. For more intellectual minds there was also the incredible Black Mirror.

In spite of the shows mentioned above,  HBO gives me the same feeling I once had while dating a woman who never once offered to pay for anything! There’s that uncomfortable feeling that I’m on the wrong end of a bad deal. Yes they have Game of Thrones, which is one of the greatest TV series ever made, but that aside, could I live without the rest of their shows and films? Yes of course I could. Another point is that I have HBO running via UPC Horizon, and often simple things like pausing and resuming a show doesn’t even work properly, which for that price is unacceptable.

Cancel HBO will you?

Netflix

Netflix on the other hand costs 7.99 Euros a month (now 8.99 for new subscribers) and the sheer choice of content available is staggering. It has some of the best shows available anywhere. Orange is the New Black, a show that sounded a bit like a chick flick, but is actually a very moving and entertaining series. House of Cards whose main character, is charming, slippery and not to be trusted, some bitter Antelopes might say that he reminds them of the Shallow Man, but that would be just sour grapes. For half of what I’m paying for HBO, I have more quality shows available than I’ll ever have the time available to watch. Of course being a lover of bespoke tailoring, I had to watch Suits and see what the fuss was all about, and again was not disappointed. Harvey Spector has obviously been hanging around in secret bars in Amsterdam and decided to adopt the Shallow Man style of dress.

Added to this, Netflix has a huge selection of documentaries, kids shows (yes I have young relatives that I need to keep quiet) and a selection of films that make me wonder how cable firms such as UPC and Ziggo will ever be able to justify the amounts they used to charge per on demand movie.

The question is..

I love Game of Thrones, but considering how often I watch HBO (mainly when Game of Thrones is on) then it’s simply not worth the money. It’s a choice between a high maintenance girlfriend, and an independent woman that performs well in every department.  I guess that I’ve been in the Netherlands too long and just can’t bear with paying money for something I hardly watch. Which means that my personal choice of HBO or Netflix is that Netflix wins hands down for me. If you had to make the choice, which would you choose? HBO or Netflix?