See What’s Next — Every Week Or All At Once?

Netflix’s weekly episode releases have not been popular amongst viewers, according to an engagement report released last December.

By Joelle Kirsch

Netflix’s first-ever engagement report confirms what many viewers believe: launching one episode a week is not nearly as effective as releasing them all at once.

The engagement report, which was released last December, shows that only one of the top 10 most-watched shows between January and June 2023 –– La Reina Del Sur: Season 3 –– released its episodes weekly. Three shows were released in two parts. 

Netflix claimed that the individual episode release strategy would not stick, despite continuing to release television shows in multiple parts.

“We think our bingeable release model helps drive substantial engagement, especially for newer titles,” Netflix said in its quarter 3 shareholder letter in 2022. “This enables viewers to lose themselves in stories they love.”

Many viewers dislike the weekly releases, claiming that Netflix is made for binge watching. The streaming service has been releasing full seasons at a time since 2013. 

“I feel like when shows come out once a week, I lose interest and get confused and need to go back and rewatch and then it’s just pointless,” David Panner, a freshman at New York University (NYU), said. “I would much rather just binge it because then I don’t forget what happened.”

Others said that the weekly release schedule allows for more engagement and higher interest in the television show itself. 

“It's difficult to keep interest alive without ongoing buzz and fan discussion,” Reddit user LoquaciousBumbaclot wrote. 

The user described how shows like Max’s The Last of Us, which releases episodes weekly, have generated substantial Reddit discussion.

“Each episode thread for The Last of Us contains nearly 13,000 comments, which is more than many discussions about entire seasons of shows on [Reddit],” LoquaciousBumbaclot said. “You just don’t get that when ‘everyone’ binges the show within a few days.”

In more extreme cases, excessive binge watching can lead to insomnia, fatigue and depression, according to the National Library of Medicine. The practice serves as a form of gratification: a planned activity that gives viewers a temporary break from stressors. But if viewers watch more than expected, it may induce regret and worsened mental health.

“I feel gross when I binge-watch and I always regret doing it,” Camila Fernandez, an NYU freshman, said. “It takes up so much time and I end up wasting half a day.”