Netflix

Netflix launched the streaming revolution and turned viewers into binge-watchers, forever changing the way people consume video. Now it’s remaking the way TV shows and movies get made—increasingly putting itself into direct competition with the world’s biggest studios. Having started with some initial marquee series like “House of Cards” in 2013, it now produces over 1,000 original shows and films—and will spend $8 billion on such projects in 2018 alone. (Netflix has also accumulated some $6 billion in debt during this expansion.) The strategy combines quantity with quality: Netflix received more Emmy nominations this year than HBO, ending the premium cable channel’s 17-year streak. It has poached prestigious showrunners from the traditional networks, like Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy), Kenya Barris (Black-ish) and Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story). And it’s recruiting Oscar-winning directors like Alfonso Cuaron in hopes of securing an Academy Award next year. The company is betting big on big data, too. Netflix analyzes what a person has binged before to predict what will get them to watch in the future. —Eliana Dockterman