When Netflix was first becoming popular, its trademark was the binge model — to release all episodes of its original shows at once. There was no more nonsense of waiting a week between episodes, and people lapped it up. It disrupted the linear television model, and brought aboard countless subscribers. Netflix became a juggernaut because of the binge model.
But Netflix was the only streaming service back then. In late 2019, rivals like Disney+ and HBO Max appeared, and, as they were late to the party, they needed a way to hook subscribers for the long haul. Their answer? Bringing back the weekly episode release model. People couldn’t sign up for the free trial, knock out the whole show, and unsubscribe before handing over a cent. They needed to conclude the show.
While done as a business move, it resulted in shows like “The Mandalorian,” “Wandavision,” and “The White Lotus” staying in the cultural conversation longer, when Netflix’s programming would only hold attention the week of release.
Perhaps the television distribution system that Netflix broke didn’t need to be fixed in the first place? But Netflix refuses to turn its back on the model that made them famous, which is why we find the final season of their biggest show ever, “Stranger Things,” releasing in a weird, noncommittal way. Instead of dropping all the episodes at once, or following the standard television model, Netflix released a handful of episodes last week, and will release another at Christmas, and will finally air the show’s finale on New Year’s Eve. It makes the customer keep their subscription like the weekly release services, but this method kills all the show’s momentum. The season just arbitrarily stops in the middle, and you pick up with it a few months later before it just stops again. It’s frustrating!
This method has been used for other popular shows like Cobra Kai and the latest season of Wednesday, which both decreased in viewership when they returned from their random hiatuses. I think it’s time for Netflix to either recommit to the binge model or shift to the weekly release schedule because this current method is satisfying neither consumer, nor shareholder.
