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Links 🔗
- Disney+ and HBO Max Want to Kill Binge Watching
We all remember tuning in to our favourite TV shows at a specific schedule. Then Netflix came along and disrupted this concept by releasing entire seasons of shows instantaneously. Netflix is basically responsible for cultivating a generation of binge-watchers, finishing newly released seasons over a weekend. Disney+, on the other hand, isn’t following Netflix’s model, opting for more traditional weekly releases - it’s working.
Netflix’s Binge
- Instant gratification for viewers. Dropping whole slates caters to our impatience and short attention spans.
- They can do so because of their extensive show library and recommendation system. Finish one, another is queued up instantly.
- Essentially, they can put out content faster than you can binge watch it.
- Binging is also cultivated for fear of missing out. Fans have the urge to rush through a show to talk about it at the earliest time possible and to avoid spoilers.
- It becomes a race within friend groups to complete the series.
Disney+’s Weekly
- Delayed gratification for viewers. A new episode releasing feels more rewarding after waiting an entire week.
- Spacing out episodes lengthens the show’s lifespan and presence (one weekend to 6ish weeks).
- Encourages fan theories and speculation between episodes. (ala WandaVision).
- Prolongs subscriptions to last the whole month, whereas many Netflix subscribers use free trials and cancel after finishing that weekend.
- All this builds hype and hooks subscribers.
It may seem well-intentioned to drop everything for the viewers but too much of a good thing ain’t good anymore. I think Disney+’s schedule is a more lucrative model and a decent change of pace, especially for binge-fatigued folks.
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