Netflix Releases All 13 Episodes Of Its Own TV Show House Of Cards At Once
from the day-and-datish? dept
We've been reasonably concerned about the growing fragmentation of online video, especially as Netflix is trying to directly take on HBO, Showtime and others, while still offering them an online outlet for their content. There's been plenty of buzz about Netflix's new series, House of Cards, starring Kevin Spacey and directed by David Fincher. Most people are talking about how Netflix spent a supposed $100 million on the series, and how it's trying to be for Netflix what The Sopranos was for HBO. However, what's probably more interesting is the fact that Netflix is releasing the entire first season -- all 13 episodes -- at once today. It's something of a recognition of how many people view TV series today.Netflix, of course, understands this quite well, as its streaming service has become quite popular with people as a way to "catch up" on the hot TV shows from last year that people missed when they were first aired. A growing number of people really really like just being able to "binge" on a TV show and watch them all over a short period of time. However, some purists worry that releasing all of the episodes at once takes away from some of the suspense and enjoyment. At the very least, it limits the "watercooler" moments the day after something airs, but with so many people just recording stuff and watching it later, that social moment was under attack already anyway.
It will be interesting to see how well the show does, and how people react to all 13 episodes being available at once. Perhaps my brain is still stuck in the "old way" of television, but this strikes me as quite different than something like movie windows, which feel really stupid. A "series" that dribbles out content once a week (but lets anyone catch up with full episodes later), seems perfectly reasonable. I almost wonder if releasing all the episodes at once takes away from long term buzz for the show as a story arc grows across a season. Also, it may make for a different kind of commitment from viewers. People who might jump in knowing that they're really only committing an hour, may be more fearful about recognizing they may be about to get sucked in to something much longer.
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Filed Under: batch viewing, culture, day and date, house of cards, kevin spacey, movies, shared culture
Companies: netflix
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I am excited...
Today, I am excited and proud to be a Netflix customer.
Just a little more of this stuff and participation from other networks and I will DUMP DirecTV like an ugly, smelly prom date.
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Re: I am excited...
Fear not, I'm sure tomorrow they will get out the lube.
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Downside? I've been holding out on "Dexter" since it first started as I want to watch every episode of every season non-stop.
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> since it first started as I want to watch
> every episode of every season non-stop.
I was doing that with BREAKING BAD and I kinda regret it. After a while, the number episodes becomes so great that I get burnt out on it and it ends up sitting for weeks at a time before I come back to it.
It's one thing to binge on 12 episodes of a show at a time. It's another to try it with 50+ episodes.
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I like options, even ones I don't use (like being able to buy booze all night long in Nevada).
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I like being able to churn though a bunch of episodes at once as well. If I like it I seem to want more. Waiting sucks.
Nigel
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I'd have to agree with this. Being a total nerd and watching a lot of anime, both old and new, I can say that I'm more likely to have a fond view of a show that's spread out over three months than one that I watch in two to three sittings. A spectacular show can make up for the lack of anticipation, but overall the weekly schedule works better. While fiddling with alternative release schedules, maybe try different amounts in a given timeframe? Perhaps two episodes a week, or maybe (show permitting) variable length episodes containing an entire story arc?
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If all the episodes are available in one go I can choose to watch them back to back and you can choose to watch one per week, or however you want to break them up.
That is the best thing about choice - flexibility and being able to suit a much broader range of people.
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Funny, I tend to spend very little time anticipating a new episode. I just forget about it until something reminds me that the new episode has come out, or if I really care, I'll check about the time it should be coming out.
Basic Pavlovian psychology supports this for any kind of fixed schedule.
In other words, the most anticipation can do is ensure I'm around when the next episode comes out. If the next episode is already there, they need far less to convince me to watch it.
Then again, I never really developed the habit of watching things on TV channels. Before there were other options, I always just grabbed a book, which did have all the options.
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I don't do dribble
The old way of watching an episode a week drove me nuts even when there was no other option. When I tried to keep up, as often as not, I'd miss an episode and them just never come back to it.
Perhaps this reduces "watercooler" discussions, but honestly, I'd never seen much of that anyway. I think in my adult life I can only remember one time that office talk was about some TV show (Heroes), and that was only because there was a coworker who was insanely obsessed with the show.
So Netflix' decision is good for me. If they did it any other way, I'd just be waiting until they were all released to watch them anyway.
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Re: I don't do dribble
Just wanted to support this. I havent watched dribble content in years. I also dont do sitcom "self containted" shows either. Give me substance, and more than a 5 minute story arc please! also, im patient, but impatient. I will gladly wait til the season is over to start watching it, but once I start... I wont stop til its all watched!
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Practical reasons
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A lot of them seem to drag it out over very long periods of time. I could understand this if they were still making them but some of them have a full season already finished before it airs.
I mean even if they do they should make it where you can buy it in stores or online soon as it is finished.
I have almost zero reason to buy them if I already recorded them on my DVR. Now if I could get all of that ahead of TV air time it would most definitely be worth my money.
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Other thoughts
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Its like the walking dead video game vs other video games. Twd was a 5 part episodic video game that spaced it out over several months letting the anticipation build and everyone was talking about it, while other games let you experience the whole game as fast as you can play through it. Both are valid experiences (and no, refraining from binge viewing isn't the same thing, its no longer a shared experience when all your friends have binge viewed and moved on).
Or another example is Stephen Kings The Green Mile. My best friend and I eagerly awaited for every new issue and talked about it before and after, but we also enjoyed reading his regular novels just as but in a different way.
Anyway, point is, both offer unique and interesting experiences and I like both models...its just now thanks to Netflix I won't have to wait for some shows to build up a seasons worth of episodes.
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And just in case you think you've got an answer, I claim that the above applies to everyone within that same spectrum. This will never, ever, EVER work. So there.
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Everything else just makes the world go round
and round in circles.
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On the other hand, a lot of good series have been helped by regular input after each show, especially when it comes to telling writers to tone down their pet characters.
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But yes, I have to admit an episode every week creates buzz and excitement, even if it's frustrating to wait a whole week for the next episode. Cliffhangers are somewhat of a necessary evil to grow popularity. Then again, Netflix can always prove me wrong! Who knows?
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Battlestar Galactica - Blood & Chrome
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What is it with the US
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Did they release it with no restrictions? (ie: geo blocking, platform specific etc?)
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That would have been a massive mistake. People subscribing to Netflix are accustomed to having full season box sets to go through, and artificial windowing is a big driver toward piracy. Given that the entire point of creating the series in the first place is to drive customers to their site, it would be a really bad thing to offer a lower level of service with their own content.
"Did they release it with no restrictions? (ie: geo blocking, platform specific etc?)"
Only insofar as they offered it as part of their standard service. So, if you have a device that can normally play Netflix content and Netflix is available in your country, it wasn't restricted. For the rest of us, VPNs take care of that. It's annoying that they have imposed the same restrictions usually forced onto them by other content providers for their own content, but again given that the idea is to drive more regular subscriptions I can see why they haven't opened it up to people who can't subscribe to their normal service.
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