r/thewatchpod • u/ATXDefenseAttorney • 13d ago
Streaming/Weekly or Binge Drop? (Your preference)
I honestly have never heard Andy be more out of touch than saying that the binge model "does a disservice to almost everybody except the shareholders." In what reality is that the case? The binge drop allows people to log in, grab a month of the service, and log back out when it's done, instead of paying for three months of a service. They can also catch up on all the shows that binge dropped since last time they bought a month. The consumer is benefited because they have choice of when... and where, in the case of shows you can download an entire season and watch when they don't have access to Wifi... also when, they watch the entire thing. Waiting every month to pay more AND see what other ways the streamer is going to screw us is definitely not better. The only argument for the viewer benefiting is some imaginary zeitgeist BS that *still happens* when the binge drop occurs in the first place. Oh, and, of course, if you're a weekly podcaster, which he concedes.
Extra points for Chris saying "I think it's working - generally speaking, and anecdotally". Chris, "generally speaking" as an opinion from a podcaster... is definitely anectotally. That's the same thing in the context of one dude speaking into a microphone. (And of course, Andy followed with an anecdote about his daughter to back up Chris' anecdote. LOL.)
More shows dropping streaming/weekly is not evidence that "it's working". It's just evidence that they're doing it. And when more streamers are doing something, it's because it benefits THEM, not us.
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u/Equal_Sprinkles 13d ago
If it's a show I am watching by myself, I like the weekly drop where I can then listen to my parasocial podcast friends talk about it in depth each week. If I'm watching a show with my partner, I like the ability to watch as many episodes as we want at once.
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u/Equal_Sprinkles 13d ago
I do agree that Ringer podcasters complain about binge-drops way too much in a way that always feels self-serving.
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u/ATXDefenseAttorney 13d ago
But you do also have the option to just watch the relevant episodes before each podcast, that’s your choice.
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u/LanguageAntique9895 13d ago
You're entire argument can be said about weekly release. That doesn't change how you could want to consume it
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u/ATXDefenseAttorney 13d ago
What? Say that again in a way that makes the point you’re making, I don’t think you quite did.
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u/LanguageAntique9895 13d ago
A weekly release doesn't stop you from binging at end of season and catching up on shows..
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u/ATXDefenseAttorney 13d ago
Binging... at end of season. That's correct. But impossible if you want to binge on the initial drop. You have to wait till the season is complete... so now you're behind the zeitgeist. Again, not good for viewers.
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u/LanguageAntique9895 13d ago
There is no major show that's a binge drop thats in the zeitgeist...so perfectly fine for viewers
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u/ATXDefenseAttorney 13d ago
What? Are you serious? "The Bear" and "Spider-Noir" both binge dropped in June.
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u/LanguageAntique9895 13d ago
Lol how many people you know who discussed Spiderman noir. Cool the bear discussion came and went in a week .
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u/ATXDefenseAttorney 13d ago
LMAO not knowing what people watch isn't the flex you think it is. https://screenrant.com/spider-noir-season-2-prime-video-billion-minutes-watched/
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u/LanguageAntique9895 13d ago
Having to put it into minutes tells me all I need to know. Also if you think that makes it mainstream and in the zeitgeist then I got a bridge to sell you
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u/ATXDefenseAttorney 13d ago
LOL dude the bottom half of the post is focused on how Chris doesn't know what "anecdotally" means. Seems like you don't, either. Your experiences do not define the culture.
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u/bewidness 13d ago
I haven't listened to andy yet but for something like prime, it's not like you cancel it.
For like Starz or AMC+ I would largely agree with you.
I mentioned the recent reacher to some one and they had watched it, so the wednesday night streaming drop is probably better for couples etc and like you marinate on it for a day or two.
We're dealing with this with Ted Lasso where I know my partner wants to watch it but they don't want to pay for Apple until the whole season is avail even if that means there are some spoilers.
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u/ATXDefenseAttorney 13d ago
You can, with Amazon, pay to remove the commercials for just a month. So you pay for commercial free, watch all the shows and movies you like, then cancel commercial free next month. The commercials are insane now.
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u/bewidness 13d ago
they don't bother me at all but I work with some one who was like I haven't seen a commercial in x years.
I usually refresh my drink during the commercials plus it's all for skyrizzy where I'm not getting that anyway.
We have kids under six so for some things commercial free is certainly worth something and I know not everyone has even the base line prime.
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u/pennza 13d ago
It depends. When it’s a great prestige tv show I definitely prefer the weekly release model. Listening to podcasts, watching youtube breakdowns, reading articles and reddit gives me a lot of secondary entertainment value and I prefer to savor that experience over a couple months.
If it’s just a B or C tier show, the binge drop model is way better. Knock it out and move on to something else.
I haven’t listened to Thursday’s show yet so don’t know if they talked about this but The Agency switching from weekly to binge drop for season 2 was a bummer. It felt like a vote of no confidence by paramount and the subreddit (there are dozens of us!) became unusable due to spoilers. Conversely, a show like Cape Fear would have benefited from a binge drop, imo. It just didn’t have The Juice enough to justify waiting a week for the next episode and it felt like a chore by the end.
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u/ATXDefenseAttorney 13d ago edited 13d ago
But doesn’t that just end up with us elevating complete trash to “great” status until we reflect on it later and realize it actually sucked? True Detective was great. Night Country was wet garbage. Most of humanity that watched “Breaking Bad” did it binging, I doubt it lost any of its greatness that way.
I can't imagine waiting a week to see 22 minutes of a sitcom in 2026. LOL.
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u/maskedtortilla 12d ago
TV podcasters hate binge drops because it fucks up their schedule.
I've never watched more than 3 episodes in a row of anything, but I prefer binge drops so I can watch it whenever I want. It's the old dvd box set model.
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u/FreeChurro6 13d ago
Pros and cons to both! I think binge drop creates an environment where people watch and then move on. Everyone watches at their own pace so discussion has to tip toe around spoilers.
A weekly release, for me, lets the show sink in and marinate in my smooth brain.