Streaming Wars, February 2021: Netflix, Disney and HBO Max hold the line

What happened with the streaming wars this past month? Things were pretty quiet on the front, with some interesting exclusives keeping things exciting.

Who’s winning the battle for your streaming dollar? Who among Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max and the rest is making the right moves at the right time to position themselves well in the wars to come? That’s what we cover every month with Streaming Wars.

Check out our living graph of the ongoing battles to see who’s rising and who’s falling. And here are all the point additions for February 2021:

CBS All Access

CBS All Access is changing to Paramount+; February is the last month where it’ll be CBS All Access. The streaming service laid out its plans for the future, which includes a Frasier reboot, a Halo show, a studio dedicated to making content based on Avatar: The Last Airbender, a whole mess of Star Trek series, and more. Take an extra point for the hype. Points: + 2

Netflix

This month, Netflix got new stuff like prestige drama I Care A Lot, the post-apocalyptic series Tribes of Europa, and the Kevin James sitcom The Crew. There were also old favorites like Inception and the return of Chappelle’s Show. It’s not bad, but by Netflix’s high standards, things were quiet. Points: + 2

Disney+

Disney+ didn’t have much new of note this month, at least not compared to competitors like Netflix. The first five seasons of The Muppet Show are nice to have, as are looks behind the curtain of some of our animated favorites with Inside Pixar: Portraits. But Disney+ kept its head above water purely because of new episodes of WandaVision, which may be the most talked-about show on TV right now. Points: + 2

Hulu

In February, Hulu gained some fun stuff (American Psycho, 9 to 5, Sonic the Hedgehog, a bunch of Star Trek movies) and lost some fun stuff (District 9, Last of the Mohicans, Selena), but came out ahead. And airing the FX documentary Framing Britney Spears helped keep it in the headlines. Points: + 2

HBO Max

HBO Max got some new prestige dramas in the form of Judas and the Black Messiah and It’s a Sin. Pair that with some old favorites becoming available (Austin Powers movies, Batman movies, The Matrix movies, the Saw movies and more), and you have a good but not great month. Points: + 2

Amazon Prime Video

Amazon got some new content in the form of The Map of Tiny Perfect Things and Bliss, starring Owen Wilson and Salma Hayek, plus older classics like Coming to America, Dazed and Confused and Moulin Rouge! Nothing managed to make much of a mark, though. Points: + 1

Apple TV+

Apple TV+ only had a few new things land in February, but they were all worth talking about at least a little: There was the first season of The Snoopy Show, the second season of For All Mankind, and a documentary about Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry. One of these months, this service is gonna actually get people talking in earnest, I’m sure of it. Points: + 1

Peacock

So far as originals go, Peacock debuted its Punky Brewster revival, plus the series premieres of Young Rock and Kenan. It also got older favorites like The Big Lebowski, The Breakfast Club and all 11 seasons of Modern Family. It’s not the most impressive lineup in the world, but at free, the price is right. Points + 2

Check out the full, living graph here:

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