Want to binge watch? New streaming TV services will make you wait
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[October 28, 2019]
By Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In 2013, Netflix
Inc <NFLX.O> shook up television by delivering 13 episodes of "House of
Cards" in one batch, a move that helped popularize streaming video and
fueled a culture of binge watching.
But Apple Inc <APPL.O>, Walt Disney Co <DIS.N> and AT&T Inc <T.N> 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.
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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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Gamers and visitors take a rest at the booth of Netflix during
Europe's leading digital games fair Gamescom, which showcases the
latest trends of the computer gaming scene in Cologne, Germany,
August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo
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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.
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"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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