Binge Times: Inside Hollywood’s Furious Billion-Dollar Battle to Take Down Netflix

Netflix emerged as an underdog in the stacked home-video market in 1997. Their outlook didn’t look promising, as they were competing with powerhouses such as Blockbuster and other home-video chains. Twenty-five years later, Netflix has evolved from rentals by mail to the premier streaming service in the world.

Those who previously looked down their noses at the company are seeking to unseat Netflix and grab a share of the streaming audience. Netflix is facing competition from Amazon, Hulu, Apple, and Disney. HBO hopes to shift from their cable dominance and shake up the market with their HBOMax offering.

Netflix broke the mold in shaping the streaming experience from dropping entire seasons to allow viewers to binge watch (House of Cards) to luring top talent with lucrative contracts (Ryan Murphy, Shonda Rhimes). The war for viewership continues as long as there remains an unclaimed market.

Binge Times examines the increasingly chaotic world of streaming platforms with unparalleled deftness. Authors Dade Hayes and Dawn Chmielewski plow through the various companies and their forays into the progressively crowded market, each chapter chock full of internal intrigue and fascinating personalities. It makes for a significant study of the entertainment medium to be read and re-read.