The latest season of Stranger Things continues to be released in two parts, a “very satisfying long binge mode experience” for long-awaited subscribers, as global production has had to be delayed in recent years in the context of the pandemic. While subscribers love this model, it is certainly one that has more pros than cons for Netflix, which has nevertheless not made it clear that they will not be releasing all the episodes at once, but rather vaguely stated that the decision will be made on a case-by-case basis. (Jenner, 2018a)

While this time around Stranger Things has had the success of recent years, the series hasn’t had the same effect as licensed series in years past, in contrast to popular step-up series like Netflix’s ‘Friends’, which drew subscribers to watch them, time and time again, day after day. As pop culture expert Robert Thompson says: “When Netflix started the binge-watching model, one of the reasons was to get people talking about and launching their new original shows, and they were successful, but things are different now”, Nick Cicero, president of the strategy at data analytics firm Conviva Cicero president of strategy at Conviva Cicero, says: “The value of releasing all the content at once is that it allows customers to use it at their own pace, but that relies on a deeper catalog”

The advantage of the single-episode release model is that releasing each episode once keeps subscribers hooked for weeks or months, which extends the subscriber immersion cycle and has the effect of reducing subscription churn, whereas Netflix’s swipe model, where subscribers can choose a full season release period they are interested in and eventually quit at the end of the month, is certainly a key cause of subscription churn. I think the binge-watching model is the best value for money from a subscriber’s point of view and gives them more freedom to choose as many episodes as they like and watch as many as they want. Netflix does this very well. (Jenner, 2018b)

For example, the fourth season of Stranger Things attempted to split the season in two due to delays in the production of the new crown, and Netflix found that subscribers did not resent but rather liked this new attempt. In summary, Netflix has been in swipe mode for a long time due to its subscribers, with series such as ‘maid’ and ‘The Squid Game’ occupying the streaming service’s top ten for weeks on end, a phenomenon that may also indicate that Netflix can be watched on the streaming service for a very long time. This phenomenon also suggests that Netflix can be watched on the streaming service for long periods while attracting new viewers. And with this new and amazing release attempt of Stranger Things, it seems that Netflix could continue to experiment with more possibilities of this model in other series. Perhaps the swipe model will continue Netflix, but the new experiment will also open up more possibilities for Netflix.

By Zhiqing Cao (33722458)

Reference

Jenner, M. (2018a). Introduction: Binge-Watching Netflix. In M. Jenner, Netflix and the Re-invention of Television (pp. 109–118). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94316-9_6

Jenner, M. (2018b). Introduction: Netflix and the Re-invention of Television. In M. Jenner, Netflix and the Re-invention of Television (pp. 1–31). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94316-9_1