Netflix Tests If Weekly Dose Of Its Content Would Be Better Than Letting You Binge-Watch

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is experimenting by moving away from its popular binge-watching model and adopting a weekly release schedule for two reality TV shows.

What Happened: The streaming service said in a blog post Tuesday that two of its biggest unscripted competition series, “The Circle” and “Too Hot to Handle” will premiere new seasons on Wednesdays, starting in April.

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Rather than releasing all the episodes of the shows at once, Netflix will roll out a batch of new episodes of each show over several weeks so that viewers will “have time to dissect and dish on every step of the competition as it unfolds.”

Netflix will release the first four episodes of “The Circle” on Wednesday, April 14, followed by the next four episodes each on April 21 and April 28. The finale will be released on May 5.

The company will adopt a similar release schedule for “Too Hot to Handle,” when new episodes premiere on Wednesdays in June. However, the company has not announced the premiere date and release schedule for the show.

Netflix has previously released episodes of the cooking competition “The Great British Baking Show” and music contest “Rhythm + Flow” on a weekly basis.

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Why It Matters: Netflix boasts a major advantage over other streaming services in its original content that is binge-watching friendly. However, the latest move is a rare deviation for the company and may be part of its plan to engage viewers of its reality shows for a longer period of time.

Netflix, which added 8.8 million paid net subscribers in the most recent quarter, is also facing rising competition from new streaming services including Walt Disney Co.’s (NYSE: DIS) Disney+ and AT&T Inc.’s (NYSE: T) HBO Max.

Price Action: Netflix shares closed about 2.3% higher on Tuesday at $535.09.

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