Netflix Reveals Plans to Release Weekly Episodes of Some Shows

Netflix is about to disrupt your binge watching. The streaming service announced on Tuesday that [...]

By Kyle Phillippi

Netflix is about to disrupt your binge watching. The streaming service announced on Tuesday that it will begin experimenting with weekly episode releases on select shows. The test is a complete 180 for the company, which has captivated its users because of its ability to watch an entire season in one weekend.

The shows that will follow this format are very limited. The change will only impact The Great British Baking Show, which is entering its seventh season, and Rhythm & Flow, a new rap competition featuring Cardi B, T.I. and Chance the Rapper.

There isn't a plan to adapt this model onto any other shows.

The week-by-week release has been tested on other platforms. Hulu has taken a stab at a similar approach, releasing a few episodes at a time for a new show before moving it to a weekly basis.

Disney+ also announced its plans to test out this idea for some of its original content. Their thought-process, like its competitors, is that by employing a weekly release schedule, it will force users to maintain their subscriptions for more than a month at a time where they binge a show or two before cancelling it after 30 days.

At D23, The Verge spoke with president of streaming services at Disney, Michael Paull, about the upcoming service.

"Our job is hard, but it's not as hard, because our content strategy is about quality, not quantity," Paull told The Verge. "Our content's about curation."

The decision, though, won't go over well with viewers who have become accustomed to binging their favorite shows. Many have already began voicing their frustration and concerns that Netflix could consider taking this approach with more shows in the future.

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