Can’t you wait a week? Why streaming platforms are binning the binge

Once upon a time,the idea of accessing new episodes of our favourite shows all at once was inconceivable. We were happy to wait an entire week just to watch the latest episode of whatever was popular in that strange era before streaming. Programs such asDesperate Housewives,Grey’s Anatomy andGame of Throneswere appointment viewing because you literally had an appointment:same time,same day,every week.

But in 2013,Netflix changed the game,creating its first original seriesHouse of Cards and releasing all 10 episodes at once. The bingeing beast was born and the drip feeding dried up.

So dramatic was the shift in our viewing habits thatbinge-watch was named Collins’ word of the year in 2015. With Netflix controlling the streaming market,we gladly overindulged,feasting on back-to-back episodes ofStranger Things,Making A MurdererandThe Crown.

But like everything in life,what goes around,comes around. As the streaming wars continue to heat up,we’ve seen a return to the weekly release model with competing platforms looking to make the most of their high-profile programs.

Unfollow the leader:Why the shift?

While Netflix has remained wedded to its binge release schedule,rival platforms have mostly abandoned the model.

Already this year,Binge has found great success with the once-a-week system helping extend the shelf-life of shows includingMare of Easttown andThe White Lotus. Next month the streamer will continue this pattern when the much-anticipated third season ofSuccessionstarts on October 18. This is largely due to the platform’s agreement with HBO,which has nearly always dropped shows week by week. But it extends to other series,too. Binge held back on airing FX’sMr Inbetween,for example,until all episodes had dropped on Showcase.

“Those three shows are all HBO programs and they still run with the linear driven schedule,” Alison Hurbert-Burns,executive director at Binge,says. “Whoever is making the content dictates how we get access to it.”

Similarly,Stan (owned by Nine,owner of this masthead) has deals with cable networks Showtime and Starz so shows,includingBillionsand Power,also premiere week by week. Theoretically,both Binge and Stan could hold those programs back and deliver bingeable drops at a later date,but the tide has shifted away from that method.

This old-fashioned way of watching keeps us on the same page in a way bingeing doesn’t facilitate.

Brad Ridout,Cyber Psychology Research Group,The University of Sydney

“We have the choice to wait and drop it all at once in 10 weeks time but,if you hold something back,you’re not only stopping the consumer choice but you’re getting left out of the conversation,” Hurbert-Burns says. “One thing I loved aboutMare of Easttown was it allowed people to create a community,there were podcasts and stories each week and it gained this cultural momentum.”

Cailah Scobie,Stan’s chief content officer,says our enjoyment of “buzzy” series is increasingly tied to belonging rather than bingeing.

“With a show likeBillions,where there are so many twists and turns,it lends itself to next day analysis,and you want to belong to that,” Scobie says.

On top of that,releasing a show each week means viewers have to remain engaged with,and focused on,the series. This allows a handful of shows to stand out in a saturated market. If a series is available all the time,it can simply drift into the ether among the volumes of content already out there. All-in-one drops was partly an effort to combat piracy,but as paid subscriptions have increased and become more affordable,piracy has declined. So long as all the episodes aren’t available elsewhere,once-a-week releases are feasible.

Welcome back to the watercooler

The return of watercooler TV might also be a reaction to the isolation brought on following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are more socially isolated than ever before,so it’s good to be able to have something that we can experience together,” Brad Ridout,from the University of Sydney’s Cyber Psychology Research Group,says.

“This old-fashioned way of watching keeps us on the same page in a way bingeing doesn’t facilitate,” Dr Ridout says.

This could explain why platforms such as Disney+,which produces content in-house and could mimic Netflix’s binge-model,are sticking with the weekly release including forWandaVision andThe Mandalorian.

Closer to home,ABC has also jumped on the anti-binge bandwagon. Previously,the ABC would drip-feed homemade dramas such asJack Irish on free-to-air while making all episodes available on iView straight away. However,with new showsThe NewsreaderandFires,the broadcaster has opted for a uniform week-by-week release. SBS maintains an inverted released model,allowing viewers to binge on its on-demand site,perhaps in order to build word of mouth or to test a show’s appeal,and then programs it for the linear platform.

Meanwhile,Amazon Prime Video has taken a more varied approach depending on the show. In May,the platform debuted Nicole Kidman’s latest projectNine Perfect Strangers. The miniseries is a Hulu Original,so Amazon followed Hulu’s week-by-week drop. But last week the Amazon-producedBack To The Rafterswas made available to audiences in its entirety – a method that pleased creator Bevan Lee.

“The good thing with binge form is that the writing can be more driven and direct,without concern for viewers losing plot threads through separation of episodes,” Lee,whose career has most often seen him deliver weekly dramas for free-to-air networks,says. “It becomes more of a multi-hour movie than multi-episode television.”

Stan has mirrored this tactic,with almost all Stan Original series sticking to the binge model. “There is no hard and fast rule with our originals,but to date,the majority have dropped all at once,” Scobie says.

The only Stan Original to go weekly has been the first season ofRuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under,which aired earlier this year.

“That’s a competition-based show,so that format lends itself to a staggered release,” Scobie says.

Binge is currently shooting its first homemade commission, Love Me,a six-part drama made in conjunction with Foxtel but Burns says no decision has been made on how best to release the show.

“All the platforms are experimenting,so if they can drop a whole series believing it’ll work for a particular type of show,then they might do that.

Both Binge and Apple TV+ have toyed with a hybrid model that delivers viewers the best of both worlds. In 2020,Binge premieredThe Flight Attendant with a triple episode release before scaling back to once a week. Apple TV+ did the same for the first season ofTed Lasso.

“Sometimes you’re not sure if something will stick,so you give a little more and then hope it builds,” Hurbert-Burns says.

The binge is dead;long live the binge

According to data fromRoy Morgan,Netflix remains Australia’s most-watched subscription service and bingeing is in its DNA so that’s not about to change.

“Releasing all episodes at once is our default and we don’t plan to meaningfully move away from that – Netflix members know and love that model,” a Netflix spokesperson said.

For those concerned that the changing trends may spell the end of binge sessions on the couch,don’t hit the panic button just yet.

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