End of marathons? Netflix may change the way series releases

Netflix has created a trademark by deciding to release entire seasons of its series at once, rather than weekly episodes. This has created a culture of marathons and many have gotten used to this release system, but it looks like the streaming giant is considering a move for the future.

The streaming war has had a big impact on Netflix in recent years. Due to all the success achieved in productions like Stranger Things and Round 6, the increase in competition has made the pressure on these original productions to get even greater.

Due to the sheer abundance of content being made available by multiple streaming platforms, there have been many discussions about how Netflix can adapt to maintain market leadership. In addition to launching a lower price plan with ads, the service also began to better evaluate productions that should be canceled or renewed.

Given the growing importance Netflix places on audiences in the first week and month of a show’s release, conversations about the effectiveness of releasing a full season of shows have reignited.

In a new edition of the Puck News newsletter, the site suggests that Netflix is ​​looking to somehow move away from the current model of series releases for seasons. Currently, Netflix adopts the weekly episode release model for some competitive reality shows, but soon, this model could be used for Netflix’s biggest original productions as a way to keep viewers engaged for a longer period of time.

Matthew Belloni noted in the newsletter that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings “seemed reluctant to abandon the current release model because he didn’t need it or want it. Now, it looks like he does.”

Netflix has already started experimenting with other release models. Subscribers recently saw season four of Ozark and season four of Stranger Things split into two parts. Netflix plans to do the same with the fourth season of Manifest.

The possible shift to weekly episode releases for some shows would finally see Netflix reverting back to the traditional model of TV series releases, something competitors like Disney Plus, Prime Video and so many others have followed from the beginning.

Do you prefer to watch the episodes weekly or marathon all at once?