Article TVE
Bingeing vs. stingeing: why are streaming platforms moving back to slow-release series drops?
In an age of instant-gratification and impatience, it’s an interesting move for streaming platforms to spread the release of new episodes across days, and even weeks.
It could be that platforms are picking up on the increasingly popular audience trend to ‘stinge-watch’; limit your consumption of a TV show to prolong its enjoyment and delay the inevitable empty feeling when your favourite characters have nothing more to say.
There’s also something to be said for the social currency that a slow-release series can provide (as long as the content is good enough). Whether it’s theorising what’s coming next, debating the meaning of that one scene, or just voicing that you hated that outfit, slow releases give us more to talk about and more to process before moving on to the next piece of content.
From a platform perspective, it could be a strategic tactic to stand out from the crowd in an over-saturated sea of content by communicating that this series is worth waiting for. As The Economist so eloquently puts it, returning to the old one-epsiode-a-week version of consumption “makes a bold but implicit claim: that the story is good enough to fit your life around, rather than vice versa.”
This topic sparked debate among us at TVE. From not having time to watch more than one episode a week, to waiting for the weekly episodes to finish releasing and then binging them all at once; we’re definitely divided when it comes to TV watching habits.
“I’m a big fan of the slow release, especially when it’s a bloody good show. The example that really comes to mind is Severance. I found myself really looking forward to Fridays because that meant a new episode. There aren’t many things in life you have to wait for these days, and that feeling of anticipation and excitement is almost nostalgic!” – Heather
“I can go either way when it comes to TV. When a new season of a recent series comes out (think Severance, White Lotus) I love the slow drop as it gives me time to speculate what’s going to happen with friends and it’s something to look forward to. When I’m late to the game and the full series is out, I’ll ration myself to a few episodes a week to prolong the entertainment. I also tend to rewatch series a lot, which I’ll binge so that I can have something on in the background while I get on with other things.” – Becky
“If they decide to release weekly episodes, I just wait with watching as I prefer to watch them all in one go or at least close to each other. So very much prefer shows to be available straight away, and if they can add information on next season or timelines that would even be better!” – Joyce
“In between big titles, I like to play video games that are 8-12 hours long, that I can fit across a few days and then move on. Same goes about TV series! Give me the option to binge-watch, so that I can make each season the theme of a week or a rainy weekend”. – Emeline
“I hate waiting for weekly episodes. When I finally get a moment to sit down, watch a few episodes, get into the story…and then it’s over.
My schedule’s never consistent, so by the time I come back and have time to watch something, I’ve either forgotten key plot points, in the wrong headspace, or there is something new I’m being told to watch.” – Sam