Marathoning shows on Netflix can be fun, but it also comes with drawbacks for you and distributors.
With services like Netflix, it’s never been easier to binge-watch and marathon TV shows. It’s the perfect set up for the current generation, the generation that demands instant satisfaction more than any previously.
Instead of the typical one episode a week schedule, Netflix releases episodes of their original television series all at once. They know there’s an audience out there who will sit in front of their screens all weekend and watch the show from beginning to end, so they cater to that audience. It’s a system that makes sense, but does it make the most sense? Moreover, is it even a good idea?
We’ve all been there: We watch an episode of something that ends with a cliffhanger, and it drives us crazy having to wait another week to find out what happens. Streaming services like Netflix felt our pain and heard our cries, and decided to release their shows all in one go, allowing us to watch at whatever pace we choose. The freedom to watch however many episodes we want in a day is liberating, but it also comes with drawbacks.
The instant satisfaction of our generation also leads to a generation of ‘spoilers.’ Take Game of Thrones for example. When a Thrones episode airs Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. ET, spoilers abound on the internet before the episode even ends. If you can’t watch the episode until the next day or worse, a few days later, you basically have to avoid the internet at all costs, because no matter what you’re doing, you will inevitably be spoiled by some glimpsed phrase, image, or headline.
By releasing every episode of a season at once, it’s nearly impossible for people to avoid being spoiled unless they watch every episode. Naturally there are those who will marathon it and, understandably, put spoilers out there because they want to talk about it with others. But there are also those who won’t have time to watch it all, resulting in the futile task of not getting spoiled until they do finish.
Then there’s the community aspect. With people watching episodes at their own pace, it’s difficult to have a conversation with each other, because odds are you’re not at the same episode. A great thing about watching TV is getting to talk to people about it. It creates both fun and serious conversation and discussion, a feature that is eliminated or strained because of marathon viewing.
Weekly episode releases allow people more opportunities to talk. Each week there’s a different discussion about what happened on the latest episode: the good, the bad, and predictions on what they think will happen next. Ironically, there’s less to talk about when you’ve watched everything at once, because there’s much more to remember, and only the highlights tend to stick out.
Lack of discussion is not just a downside for viewers though. Marketing suffers as well. Both the amount and duration of online buzz is low when release isn’t spread out. Because everyone is at a different episode, and because the whole season is released at once, discussion isn’t generated the same and the hype is fleeting. If getting online attention is important, then full season release is not the best idea.
Marathoning does have its benefits though. Aside from satiating those who just can’t wait for the next episode, a full season release is also good for shows of less than great quality. You’re more likely to continue watching a show you don’t love if the next episode is readily available, as opposed to having to come back week to week.
If you have the time to watch three or more episodes of something a day, presumably you’ll love the ability to watch an entire season of a show in one weekend. And if you don’t care about spoilers, or are some anomaly that knows how to navigate the internet without being spoiled, then being able to watch a show whenever you want, at your own pace, is definitely ideal.
However, if you don’t have time to marathon an entire season, want to avoid spoilers, and/or just like being able to chat and theorize with friends, then a full season release is one of your worst nightmares. When not released on a weekly basis, television feels less like an event. There’s something to be said for waiting. When forced to wait for the next episode, anticipation builds, and there’s more excitement. The control is out of your hands, but it makes sure everyone is (mostly) on an equal playing field.
Television is going through many changes, and so far there’s no ‘right’ way of distribution. There are many different methods of watching TV available to us, and everyone, viewers and distributors alike, has their own preference. Marathoning and binge-watching is definitely the current trend of TV viewing, but it’s unclear whether this trend will last, or make way for something else.