Even the originator of skipping entire seasons has adapted time-release strategies with many of their series.
The practice of releasing all episodes of a season at once, the so-called binge release, was pioneered by Netflix and is often credited as one of the main innovations that propelled the company to become the top streaming platform years ago. . But is it really the best strategy for streamers?
It is believed that giving fans the opportunity to immerse themselves in a show and removing the wait time between episodes made the experience more enjoyable for viewers. in your last shareholder letterNetflix even said, “It’s hard to imagine, for example, how a Korean title like ‘Squid Game’ would have become a mega hit globally, with people being able to binge it.” We believe that the ability for our members to immerse themselves in a story from start to finish increases their enjoyment, but so does their ability to tell their friends, which means more people are watching Netflix. Watch, connect and stay together.”
The statement appears to reinforce Netflix’s commitment to a binge-release strategy, following some speculation that the platform may be considering adjusting its distribution for originals. Other platforms like Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ rely on a weekly release strategy to keep viewers and social media engaged with the show over a long period of time.
Over the past few years, the number of binge-released titles in the 50 most successful streaming releases has been falling—as well as its share of demand. In 2019, binge releases accounted for 72% of the top 50 shows released that year, and they accounted for 64.4% of total demand for the top 50 new titles, according to data from Parrot Analytics, which reports consumer research. Takes into account streaming, downloads and social media, among other engagements.
These shares have fallen to 62% of the number of shows and 57.5% of demand in 2020. 2021 was a turning point. For the first time in many years, more shows were periodically released in the top 50 than a single binge release that year.
So far in 2022, only 9 of the top 50 new streaming originals were bi-released. Although most of these shows were Netflix originals, they are not the only ones that binge-released. Two Prime Video productions, “Reacher” and “The Terminal List”, also made the top 50 rankings. Binge-released shows made up only 13.8% of the demand share for the top 50 new releases that year.
Binge vs Periodic Release, US (Parrot Analytics)
It may be that the drop in the share of bi-release series among the top streaming originals reflects Netflix’s low number in that ranking. In 2022, Netflix releases are losing ground to highly sought-after shows from their competitors such as HBO Max, Disney+ and Paramount+. These three platforms dominated the ranking of the most sought-after new shows of 2022 as they accounted for the top six new releases of the year.
The most sought-after title released so far in 2022 is HBO Max’s “Our Flag Means Death,” which has 29.9 times higher demand than the average show over the year. Another very successful series from the same platform is “Peacemaker”, which belongs to the popular DC franchise. In fact, half of the shows in the top 10 rankings were part of a franchise.
In addition to “Peacemaker,” all the top Disney+ releases of the year – “Moon Night,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi” and “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law”,Also a Paramount+ top show “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” – part of a well-established franchise. On the other hand, Netflix only has one show in its top 10 list (“The Sandman”). Netflix’s most successful release to date, “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” is still one of the top new releases of the entire year.
The 10 Most In-demand Streaming Original Series of 2022, US (Parrot Analytics)
“The Sandman” was also the only show among the 10 most sought-after titles released in 2022 to be released to binge. All the other shows on that list followed either a weekly release or a batch release in which a handful of episodes were released at once, but not an entire season.
Aside from “The Sandman”, the most sought-after binge-released new show from 2022 was Prime Video’s “Reacher”, which had 12.6 times more demand than the average title year, making it the 12th most sought after release. Creates a title. in that year.
Daniel Quinaud, a senior data analyst at Parrot Analytics, is a WrapPRO partner. For more from Parrot Analytics, visit the Data & Analytics Hub.
