While some people might tolerate or even approve of the old model, I do not. Proponents of the traditional model say it allows a show to build buzz and anticipation for upcoming episodes. But with so many programming options out there, it’s easy to lose track of shows on a weekly release. I need a recap video to watch even new seasons of many shows.
Binge watching gives viewers the option of watching one or more episodes to satisfy their demand. It puts them in control. Weekly episode releases give all the control to the programmer and it seems stingy by today’s standards.
When services such as Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+ and HBO Max release a new series that I’m interested in, I’ll mark my calendar for when the full season will be available.
My suggestion to those services is to switch to the user-friendly binge-watching model and drop the old-school weekly release model.
According to a survey by Hub Entertainment Research, 64% of viewers prefer all episodes of a series to be released at once as opposed to one episode per week (36%).
Photo: Season five of the Apple TV+ series “Slow Horses” premiered on Sept. 24, 2025. But all six episodes won’t be available until Oct. 29. (Apple TV+)
