Whenever a new Netflix series rolls around, we get the whole thing in one go, and for that we’re grateful.
We’ve been able to binge-watch shows like Making a Murderer and House of Cards, safe in the knowledge that we’d never have to wait a week for the next episode.
And, surprise surprise, it’s a deliberate tactic from the streaming service, with chief content officer Ted Sarandos explaining there’s “no reason” to release shows weekly.
“The move away from appointment television is enormous. So why are you going to drag people back to something they’re abandoning in huge numbers?” Sarandos told Hitfix, adding that “for the most part, most people watch those shows on demand…and in multiple episode stacks.”
He said the approach allows people to watch individual shows in one burst – which seems to be a popular approach, rather than splitting their week between different series and running the risk of abandoning some of them partway through.
“[It’s] radically different than, you know, a show a night viewing the way people used to do. And also the idea that I used to have a Tuesday night show, a Wednesday night show,” he said.
“You don’t have to worry about reminding people of every detail of every scene, because there’s a 100 percent chance they saw last week’s episode less than an hour ago.”
