Within the past few years, the way we watch television has completely transformed. Between releasing 15 episodes at once to specialized mini-series with only 8 episodes we are traveling in a new direction. Is this a positive force or negative? How so and who is affected? More creatives are finally being able to produce the shows they may have had difficulty with in the past. But is this all just recycled visual information coming out in a larger quantity? By simply hitting "next episode" are we focusing on the content or having a competition to binge the series in under a weekend?
Thoughts?
I don't believe that the actual quantity of television has necessarily been changed by the rise of binge-watching (things like that are typically dictated by contracts and production costs). However, I do believe that it has created a dramatic increase in the production and popularity of serialized narratives (as opposed to self-contained narratives) which may make for an interesting topic from a creative point of view. – Ian Miculan6 years ago
I'm not sure if it's ruining the television industry or the viewer's experience. It can be argued that the anticipation felt at the end of a crazy episode isn't as intense because the viewer knows that they can find the resolution in the next episode immediately. There's one show that I watch week to week, and I find myself needing to talk to friends about it and feeling more intrigued by the show's drama. Integrating the effect on the viewer might be an interesting twist to the article. I think this would make the article more intriguing to a reader because they can relate to it through their own experience. – lolsen6 years ago
I think that binge culture can be damaging to the television industry. Because people can speed through series much more quickly, companies like Netflix are putting out dozens of new series everyday, instead of focusing on the ones that have held long-lasting success. – Sarah Bish6 years ago
Not positive. Not negative, either. It's just what it is. A "state" of TV evolution. Right now, they are going back to weekly episodes. – T. Palomino12 months ago