Weekly Release Or Binge Model? New Samba TV Study Suggests 2-Part Strategy Could Be Key For Streaming Viewership

Katie Campione
·3 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Are streaming services better served by the bulk release strategy or the traditional weekly model? A new report from Samba TV suggests that there are actually benefits to both when it comes to maximizing viewership.

Take Netflix’s Wednesday and HBO’s House of the Dragon, for example. Samba previously reported that the Addams Family spinoff outpaced the Game of Thrones prequel to have the most-watched premiere episode of the year, but that’s only when taking into account long-tail viewing.

More from Deadline

By the 50th day of release, Wednesday had attracted 8.7M households, besting House of the Dragon‘s audience of 8.4M (House of the Dragon won in the initial 15-day window).

However, House of the Dragon remains the No. 1 show of the year when it comes to de-duplicated household viewership across all episodes (which means re-watching isn’t taken into account). In that case, HotD reached a total of 16.3M households across all episodes, compared to Wednesday‘s 12.2M.

This is because bulk-release shows like Wednesday drove new viewership at a lower rate than weekly releases like HotD. Tulsa King and Euphoria are other examples of shows that more than doubled their tune-in between the premiere episode and total viewership across all episodes. Samba coins them the “slow burn winners,” because the ongoing buzz surrounding the weekly episode prompted more people to watch.

According to Samba, the average lift between premiere and total viewership for the eight weekly release shows within the 20 shows analyzed was 119%. Tulsa King had the highest lift at 312%.

This phenomenon is much less likely to happen with bulk release shows, since they fuel a binge model of viewing. New viewership drops off quicker, because there isn’t as much momentum built between the episodes — even for shows like Wednesday, which captured the cultural zeitgeist for quite some time.

But Samba also found that bulk release shows are more likely to retain their initial fans throughout the season. The average retention rate between premiere and finale viewership (based on viewership within the first 50 days) for bulk release shows was 47%. That’s compared to a 41% retention rate for shows with a weekly release.

Seven of the 10 shows with the highest retention rate released episodes in bulk as opposed to weekly or in two parts. Prime Video’s Reacher had the highest retention rate at 58%.

Samba also took a look at shows that were released in two parts, like Stranger Things 4 and Ozark Season 4. Those shows averaged a 58% lift between premiere viewership and total viewership across all episodes (compared to 45% lift for a weekly release). They also retained about 44% of their audience.

Based on that data, two-part releases could be the key to streamers getting the best of both worlds.

“In the battle among streaming providers, success is defined by various metrics: maximizing subscribers, platform engagement, and show audience,” said Samba TV co-founder and CEO Ashwin Navin. “Comparing Netflix’s Wednesday and HBO’s House of the Dragon illustrates two different approaches that draw massive audiences, with an intense focus on how to captivate younger, diverse viewers. As the streaming landscape rapidly evolves, it’s essential to develop innovative, data-driven ways to break away from the pack.”

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.