Netflix has shot down recent rumors that it is pivoting to a weekly release strategy for all its originals, and has cited evidence as to why.
As part of its Q3 shareholder letter announcing quarterly results, which saw an uptick of 2.4M subscribers after two quarters of small losses, the company made it clear it had no plans to stop releasing full seasons at once for binge-friendly viewing.
In a statement, the company that pioneered the practice of binge-releasing TV seasons says it’s sticking to its plan:
“We think our binge-able release model helps drive substantial engagement, especially for newer titles. This enables viewers to lose themselves in stories they love.
It’s hard to imagine, for example, how a Korean title like ‘Squid Game’ would have become a mega hit globally without the momentum that came from people being able to binge it.
We believe the ability for our members to immerse themselves in a story from start to finish increases their enjoyment but also their likelihood to tell their friends, which then means more people watch, join and stay with Netflix.”
They cite a Google Trends chart which revealed a huge spike in search queries for their “Dahmer” series – a spike that has been maintained for several weeks at levels well above (i.e. 3-4x) those of weekly released rival shows “House of the Dragon” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”.
The recent quarter has shown the ups and downs of weekly release ‘water cooler’ talk. Both “House of the Dragon” and “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” have generated plenty of online conversation, good and bad, but there has been less talk surrounding both “Rings of Power” and “Andor” in the weeks since their launches.
Netflix does release some series in a weekly format, including reality series and overseas releases of licensed network shows, it also has split seasons of shows like “Stranger Things” and “Money Heist” in two to maximize viewer interest and engagement.
Source: Variety
