On social media, rumours spread that Netflix was going to shift to a weekly release model. While this is unconfirmed at the time of writing, I believe it would be a great idea for some shows — both as a consumer and as a business model for Netflix.
If you’re unable to watch a show in one viewing or on the release date due to work, school, or just life in general, it can be difficult to avoid all information pertaining to it. Temporarily unfollowing the show’s or the actor’s official pages cannot guarantee that spoilers will be avoided. Others can share posts about the show, or they can appear in the suggested posts as something you may be interested in. Family or friends can also share memes that have no context, write their thoughts about episodes, or simply mention it in passing. Even if you are optimistic about limiting social media, it is difficult to quit using it if it’s your principal means of communication or if you use it for work. By moving to a weekly or batch release for all of their popular shows, Netflix would allow leeway to watch a show at your own pace without falling too far behind everyone else.
While a show can be captivating and difficult to stop watching once you start, binge watching is not the most effective way to retain information from the show. Some scenes can be memorable or are very quotable, but important aspects of the plot, character development, elements of foreshadowing, or clues to what will happen can be missed. Binge-watching a show is similar to cramming for an exam: experts on memory have found that “cramming,” while helpful in improving recognition, is not a very efficient way to learn. Without giving ourselves the opportunity to reorganise information in a way that makes sense to us, we limit our ability to process new information. The same can apply to long shows where there are many seasons.
Furthermore, when there is a gap of time between new seasons, it can be difficult to remember the details of what happened in a previous season if you binge-watched it in one day. For example, Stranger Things has gone at least a year between seasons, with the most recent premier of season four this summer coming nearly three years after season three dropped way back in July 2019. Without rewatching the previous seasons, is all the information really being retained a year later? By having a weekly release model, there would be less of a wait between seasons for fans of the show.
As a business, the transition to a weekly release model would be beneficial to increase social media engagement and organic promotion too. When looking at Twitter directly after the release of Cobra Kai and Stranger Things, the series were in the trending topics. While they might remain in the “top” charts according to Netflix over time, are individuals still talking about it? If there are multiple release points for a season, viewers are engaged for longer periods of time. People talk about it and through this organic promotion, strengthen the longevity and momentum of the show over a longer period of time. Also, viewers would need to maintain their subscription to avoid missing out, unlike the current model where hypothetically you can simply cancel after bingeing an entire series in a week.
While a weekly release model could backfire for shows like Dated and Related or Sexy Beasts that might not attract huge followings or huge numbers, Netflix has experimented with “batch” releases already with Love is Blind and Too Hot Too Handle. For bigger shows like Cobra Kai, Bridgerton, and Stranger Things, having the option to watch weekly could extend interest in the show, increase engagement, and help make it more memorable, while still leaving the option available for those who prefer to binge-watch once the final episode comes out.
