One of the key assumptions of the WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes has been that audiences would soon notice the effects of the work stoppages as broadcast, cable and streaming networks started running out of originals.

This would make sense in a normal world, but given that we’ve just come off of several years of “Peak TV,” it may not be the problem many expected it to be.

With around 500 original series produced every year for the past several years, there’s a lot of TV that people haven’t seen.

So rather than a period where people are bemoaning the lack of anything new, we’re looking at a period where a lot of people are catching up on all the series they’ve missed over the past five years.

This will have multiple consequences for the industry affecting a number of different areas.

Binge Watching Picks Up

To begin with, it will lead to an increase in binge watching, a habit that people were starting to give up pre-strike.

Not that audiences no longer like binge viewing, but the pressure to watch an entire eight- or 10-episode series in the course of a few days was high, and there’s something about the weekly release schedule that viewers seem to find comforting, convenient, or some combination thereof.

If you recall, at the beginning of the streaming era, the assumption was that we would all be binge watching everything, ad free, and at the time, the drop of a new bingeable Netflix series would be a major media event.

The Shift From Public to Private Viewing

There was something about bingeing, too, being able to watch shows on your own schedule, that changed the way we regarded TV, which became much more of a private medium, if you will, than a public one. We were our own programmers, deciding what we (and “we” could be anywhere from one person to an entire family unit or friend group) would watch and when.

The renaissance of this sort of behavior, as people catch up on all those shows they missed over the past five or so years, is likely going to have an impact on traditional pay TV, which is decidedly not bingeable. That’s where viewers are going to find a paucity of anything beyond reruns and reality shows. Throw in the growing availability of news — local news in particular — and sports on streaming and this newly readopted behavior may be what pushes many more people to cut the cord. 

At the same time, streaming services with the rights to popular network series may find this working to their advantage. 

This applies to long-time favorites like The Office and Seinfeld, but also from primetime series like The Good Place that came out during the streaming boom, where they were likely ignored by the sorts of audiences who might actually like them and decide to binge them, now that they are available on streaming sites like Netflix, Amazon and Apple TV Plus.

Similarly, we’re also likely to see some unexpected new hits from the Peak TV Bingeathon, series that slipped under the radar the first time, but find new audiences — largely through word of mouth — during The Great Catch-Up.

Churn, Baby, Churn

One unfortunate outcome of all this catching up is that it is likely to result in a higher than average degree of churn as viewers sign up for a particular SVOD service to watch a specific series, and then let the subscription lapse once they’re finished. 

That’s bad news for streaming at a time when churn is already a major problem, and reminding viewers of how easy it is to unsubscribe is not going to help.

The Content Hangover

Starting pretty much initially at launch, all of the streaming services set out to entice new subscribers with a steady flow of original content.

It sounded like a great idea at first — an array of new series would give viewers a reason to subscribe and then to stay subscribed. Only every streaming service had the same idea, which is why the industry now finds itself in the position it is in, with hundreds of series that have yet to find their audiences.

If there’s a lesson here, it’s that everyone — broadcast, cable and above all streamers — can start making do with less, focusing on a handful of shows, promoting them and helping them grow a following.

It’s a lot more effective than merely throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.

Linear Channels Redux

What many of the subscription streaming services do have though, is massive libraries of older programming. And if they were to take all that library content and create some linear channels out of them, the way the FASTs have done, that could be a very smart move indeed. 

Especially on their ad-supported tiers where not having to pick a show to watch next will increase the amount of time viewers spend watching, which will in turn increase revenue.

It’s a great way for these services to get real value out of the massive libraries they have invested in. This is not to mention the fact that I am going to keep harping on the wisdom of doing so, until more of them listen and take my advice. 

Five hundred and fifty-nine original television series were released in 2021, and 2022 will no doubt see even more.

Free from the bounds of time — and in many cases, direct economic profitability — streaming services are able to continually crank out new series. And with a major arms race going on now in terms of how many billions each is allocating to original programming, that crank is just going to move faster.

The likely beneficiaries of the content arms race? Weekly release schedules and movies.

Allow me to explain.

Bingeing was something unique when Netflix made it a part of the Total Netflix Experience. To begin with, there weren’t a whole lot of originals, certainly not enough so that they overlapped with each other. Thus, each drop of say, Stranger Things, felt like an event. 

Also read: New Peak for Peak TV as Number of Scripted Series Hits 559

That was then.

With so many streaming options now, the notion of starting a 12-hour series binge can feel more than a bit intimidating. You’re making a commitment to get through all 12 hours, not unlike a commitment to wake up every morning and exercise, only there’s no structure to your commitment. Do you watch one episode each night? Plow through all 12 hours over the course of a weekend? Watch nothing else till you finish?

There are a lot of decisions to make and quite likely a minor stressor if you fall off the wagon and suddenly find yourself behind schedule with no clear path to getting back on track.

You start watching a number of series, but can never find the time to actually finish them, which results in all sorts of stress, guilt and feelings of unworthiness every time you so much as look at the remote.

Weekly releases, on the other hand, carry no such stressors. They’re scheduled at a specific day and time that you can build your schedule around. (Hence the popularity of regularly scheduled exercise classes, to revert to the previous metaphor.) If you miss a day, or two or even an entire week, it’s easy enough to catch up by doubling up on episodes, which is nowhere near as stressful as trying to figure out when you will find time for the six hour-long episodes of that binge-able series you still need to watch.

Then there’s the social aspect of weekly releases. 

One of the trickiest things with bingeing is finding someone who is watching the same series as you are at around the same time. (Your friends who watched it six months ago are unlikely to remember the minor plot details you want to discuss.) 

With weekly releases, you are all on the same page. Plus there are all those recaps, the Television Without Pity-inspired dissections of popular weekly shows that have become an important part of the viewing experience and a way to fully understand both plot twists and that line you missed about 30 minutes in because, even with a really good sound bar, the audio is still somewhat garbled.

There’s also the investment angle. 

Investing time in a binge-only series somehow feels like a bigger deal. It was a decision you made on your own, with zero external pressure, and if you decide you don’t like it, that decision is all on you. Whereas a weekly release still feels like something you can easily walk away from with a simple, “No, sorry, not really for me,” and it’s on the network or streaming service for not living up to your expectations.

Factor in anticipation — there are countless studies about the psychic benefits of delayed gratification — and you have a strong argument for weekly releases.

Movies have many similar benefits in their favor, the primary one being time. 

Most movies these days come in at somewhere around the two-to-two and a half hour range and as such, can be seen as a much safer and less stressful investment, easily polished off in no more than two to three sittings. That means half-watched movies are unlikely to be hovering around the inner recesses of your brain,berating you for not finding time to watch them.

Movies are also topical, meaning that for just a two hour investment, you can stay up to date with pop culture trends and easily take part in all that Zoom call chatter. 

And that’s just movies as compared to bingeable TV.

Compared to actually going to a movie theater, watching at home requires much smaller blocks of time (no endless previews or rushing to get there early to get good seats) plus there’s no pressure to secure a companion to watch a movie at home. 

Which is why we will likely see more movies being made for streaming, as they can also deliver bigger stars and the sort of buzz that helps to create stickiness. 

Ditto weekly releases. While they may not attract bigger stars, they do help create stickiness, at least during the three to four months they are on. What’s morek they provide further clues as to the type of programming viewers are also watching so as to (a) help transition said viewers to another one of the platform’s shows and (b) provide a roadmap to the types of series the service should be producing next year.

Which is not to say Netflix and it's all-at-once model are fading off into the sunset. There’s still an audience for that, and a very good bingeable series can still generate a whole lot of buzz (Squid Game, anyone?) 

It’s just that bingeing is no longer the only game in town and is likely to start seeming like a very late teens phenomenon. ■ 

AMC Networks’ premium video streaming service Shudder has tapped legendary drive-in movie critic Joe Bob Briggs for a 24-hour movie marathon on July 13 – "The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs."

Briggs, whose “Joe Bob’s Drive-In Theater” and “MonsterVision” shows were staples of late-night cable in the 1990s, returns for one night on Shudder, screening 13 movies over a full day, interspersed with his own commentary before, during and between films.

While there is not likely to be an Oscar nominee in the bunch, many of the films selected have achieved cult status in the horror, thriller and suspense genres, including Tourist Trap, Sleepaway Camp,  and Basket Case.

"Joe Bob is a horror icon and raconteur whose signature wit and insightful commentary entertained viewers for 14 years on TV,” said Shudder general manager Craig Engler in a statement. “We’re delighted to bring him back for this exclusive Shudder event where new fans can discover him, and old fans can rediscover him, as he takes on some of the greatest low-budget horror movies ever made.”

Shudder members will be encouraged join the conversation with Shudder’s Twitter account @Shudder during the marathon, which will include special guests, surprises, and prizes for participation.

Other initiatives centered around the marathon include an upcoming Reddit AMA on July 10th, as well as screenings hosted by Joe Bob at the Nitehawk Cinema in Brooklyn, NY on July 11th and the Alamo Drafthouse in Dallas, TX on July 12th.

Comcast has launched Glued, a marketing vehicle for the operator’s pay TV service and VOD offerings that is being billed as the first original webisode series to carry the Xfinity brand.

The six-episode series, created with ad agency Droga5 in partnership with Merman X Pulse, “is a humorous take on how people’s favorite television shows change the way they act and interact with each other,” Comcast said.

Each episode (at three to five minutes in length) focuses on a different TV-watching behavior, including bingeing and “TV cheating,” centering on a married couple who discover a hit TV show.

Glued stars John Ross Bowie (Big Bang Theory) as Jason, and Jamie Denbo (Orange is the New Black) as Sara, and is executive produced by Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe, Divorce), and directed by John Riggi (30 Rock).

In addition to the webisodes, Comcast is backing Glued with an integrated digital and social media campaign that includes 15-second cut-downs, and customized gifs.

"TV is more than entertainment – it’s a universally shared experience that brings people together, and Glued explores the common behaviors we all recognize when we get hooked on a show,"  Sherri Davis, senior Director, brand Experience at Comcast, said in a statement. "Sharon Horgan has an incredible talent for highlighting these cultural truths, demonstrating how Xfinity connects people to the things they love and enjoy."

The first episode, “The Discovery,” which shows Comcast’s X1 platform and voice remote in action, can be seen below:

New York – Binge watching, a buzzword just a few years ago and one of the catalysts of subscription video on demand in its infancy, is starting lose its cachet according to a panel of top media executives at a Paley Center for Media event here Thursday.

While bingeing on entire seasons of shows in one sitting isn’t going away entirely, it no longer appears to be the badge of honor that it once was, Discovery Communications’ Group President Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Science Channel Rich Ross said at the Paley Center for Media’s 2015 Paley International Council Summit here Thursday.

“About six months ago, you stopped hearing about it that way and there was a return to this obsession and fascination with watching something and being able to talk about it the next day,” Ross said. “To me it is what is fueling a lot of my ratings, where I realize it matters to them that it was on Wednesday night. And it did not have to be an event like Shark Week, it could be an episode of Alaska Bush People.”     

United Talent Agency co-founder, partner and director Peter Benedeck said that is good news for content developers. He added that shows like HBO’s Game of Thrones are a prime example of what the industry used to call “water cooler” programming, or shows that viewers like to talk about around the office water cooler on Monday morning and speculate what may happen next week.

Benedeck said shows that are set up to be binge-viewed don’t have that advantage, and he pointed to one series his agency has been involved in, The Crown, slated to debut on Netflix next year.

“The point is that on a given day, 10 hours of that show will be dropped on Netflix and three days later the buzz will be gone,” Benedeck said. “On a Monday morning I walk into a staff meeting at my company and people want to talk about what happened on The Affair, they want to talk about what happened in that episode and wonder what might happen next week. Shows that by definition are going to be binge-watched don’t get the opportunity for people to feel about them that way. Orange is the New Black was Orange is the New Black for about a week. And then Orange is the New Black was moving on. And that’s too bad.”

He added that is why sports seem to do so well for networks; they can’t be binged.

“Imagine if the Pittsburgh Steelers played all their games on tape and you could watch the whole season in one sitting?” Benedeck asked.

Ross added that some shows are already becoming appointment television for some viewers and with the proliferation of original content, that can only get bigger.

“There are three hours of Shonda Rhimes shows on Thursday night that everybody knows are on Thursday night,” Ross said. “If you watch all the seasons of shows at once, then you go back to, ‘Oh, there’s nothing’s on.’ That’s part of the dilemma that marathon or binge programmers have.”

Turner Broadcasting System is offering on-demand sneak peeks of several upcoming series in an effort to lure so-called binge-watchers to the network.

Turner will cue up the first four episodes of new TNT series Public Morals on Aug. 25, a day after the series premieres on the network plus brand new episodes of truTV's Friends of the People before their TV debut. Beginning this week, every single episode of all seasons of truTV's Impractical Jokers and TNT's Cold Justice will be made available on a variety of platforms and devices including online and on mobile devices, giving viewers control over how they watch – whenever and wherever they want - as part of Turner's TV Everywhere offering.

This marks Turner’s first foray into the binge-watching phenomenon that was pioneered by Netflix – releasing multiple episodes or entire seasons of series in one swoop. TNT viewers will be able to watch the Public Morals episodes on the Watch TNT mobile app, www.watch.tntdrama.com and on participating TV providers websites and apps.  Additionally, TNT will make every episode of the real-life investigative series Cold Justice available on demand to allow fans to binge-watch the past two seasons leading into the season 3 finale on Sept. 18. Episodes currently airing from season 3, which premiered on July 31, are made available on demand the day after their TV debut and will stay up through the finale, giving fans the option to catch up on the entire series all at once.

"Turner is embracing a different approach to the way programming is traditionally released and providing our audiences with multiple binge-viewing options in order to enhance their TV experience," said senior vice president of business & product development at Turner Content Distribution (TCD), John Harran in a statement. "Taking a creative approach to on demand programming and listening to viewer behavior, as well as working with our distribution partners to reach as many of their subscribers as possible, is a strategic way to engage audiences who have become accustomed to these new ways of viewing content."

TruTV will offer their audience the ability to watch every single episode of the hit series Impractical Jokers – seasons 1 through 3 – on demand beginning this week, leading into Jokers Week and the Impractical JokersLive Punishment Special celebrating the 100th episode on Sept. 3. The network also will make every single regular-season episode to date, as well as Impractical Jokers specials, available via VOD and digital on-demand, facilitating binge-watching via www.trutv.com/watch, the Watch truTV mobile app and set-top VOD. Additionally, starting on Aug. 5, truTV offers fans a sneak peek of two brand new episodes of Friends of the People before their TV premiere giving fans the option to binge on a number of episodes at once.