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 But Apple Inc, Walt Disney Co and AT&T Inc are largely rejecting
that path as they prepare their own efforts to hook the online
audiences that embraced Netflix.
Executives at AT&T's forthcoming HBO Max, a streaming service
that will be unveiled to investors on Tuesday, plan to debut one
new episode of its original series per week, Robert Greenblatt,
chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment and the company's
direct-to-consumer business, told Reuters. That mirrors the
traditional TV pattern.
"We like the idea that people watch weekly and look forward to
the next episode and talk about it," Greenblatt said.
"Newspapers write about the storylines. There is a sense of a
shared experience."
Creating buzz around a new series will be crucial in the coming
weeks and months as several companies jockey to lure customers
and keep them paying a monthly fee over the long term.
HBO Max may make some exceptions, according to a source familiar
with the company's strategy, by putting out a few episodes
simultaneously to stoke initial interest.
Apple, meanwhile, will debut its subscription video service,
Apple TV+, on Friday. For dramas "The Morning Show" and "See,"
and most other Apple series, the company will drop three
episodes at the same time, followed by one per week.
The family-friendly Disney+ will unveil episodes weekly for new
series including "The Mandalorian," the first live-action TV
show set in the "Star Wars" universe. Disney+ will launch on
Nov. 12.
'WAIT AND EXPERIENCE'
"Mandalorian" star Pedro Pascal said he believes the once-a-week
approach will make watching the show "more romantic and more
classic."
"Basically you get to sort of wait and experience more
collectively, and it just makes it more event television, which
it deserves to be," Pascal said.
"A little courtship never hurt anyone," added co-star Gina
Carano.
But to some viewers, going a week after a dramatic cliffhanger
"seems like it's old school," said Brett Sappington, principal
analyst at Parks Associates.
"For some consumers, that can be frustrating," he said.
"Expectations are just different today."
While it started among younger viewers, binge viewing of several
episodes is now common among all age groups, Sappington said.
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It also has been adopted by audiences around the world. In surveys
by Ampere Analysis, 69 percent of people in the United States said
they frequently watch several episodes of the same TV show back to
back. The percentage was 66 percent in Britain, 65 percent in France
and 46 percent in Germany.
SPIKING AT DEBUT
Various release strategies can generate hits, according to data from
Parrot Analytics, which measures global demand for programming. It
found interest in binge-able series generally spikes when they debut
and then tapers off, while shows released weekly see interest build
over time. Both level off around 10 to 12 weeks.
HBO's "Euphoria," for example, released its first installment in
June at the same time that Netflix dropped the entire season of "The
Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance."
Global demand for "Dark Crystal" peaked in the first week after it
premiered, while "Euphoria" saw steady increases after each episode
came out, according to Parrot Analytics. It reached its highest
point around the episode eight finale.
Both shows peaked with roughly 18 million daily "demand
expressions," a combination of viewership, social media mentions and
online research about the shows.
Even Netflix is experimenting with intervals between episodes. For
reality competition "Rhythm + Flow," the company released four
installments at first, three more a week later, and the final three
a week after that.
Around the world, Netflix distributes roughly 35 shows on a
once-a-week basis, Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said in
October during the company's earnings webcast. While it does not
release audience figures for most of its programming, Sarandos said
Netflix customers preferred getting all episodes together.
"We actually get more viewing and cumulatively more social media
buzz, more tweets, more activity on social media, around these shows
for the all-at-once model," Sarandos said.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Additional reporting by Jane Ross in
West Hollywood, California; Editing by Bill Tarrant and Cynthia
Osterman)
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