Netflix has innovated and changed the ways in which people view audiovisual content, with its serialized launching format. These packages manage to captivate large numbers of people who prefer to binge watch content rather than wait each week for a new episode, as with traditional television.
In this fast paced technological world, generating engagement with users is one of the most difficult tasks for content producers and distributors. Each audience has different views and tastes. Each consumer chooses what, how, and where to spend their free time.
For example, it has been demonstrated that Generation X(people born after the baby boomgeneration--although there is no universal range with exact dates, the term usually includes people born in the late 1960s to those born in 1980,) and the American Generation Y(who use the 1990s as a cultural reference, also known as Millennials) watch an average of six chapters of a serialized content per session, more than any other demographic group.
Meanwhile, older people prefer to watch weekly content because this gives them more time to discuss what will happen next with their friends, thus keeping them engaged due to the expectations.
"The possibility of accessing entire seasons at once gave rise to a new type of hyper-linear consumption, also known as binge watchingor content-structured marathons, which are watched with the intensity that the user choses," says Elena Neira of Online Marketing.
This concept also depends on the genre of the productions. According to a study done by Netflix,science fiction, horror, and thrillers favor a greater consumption compulsion, as opposed to formats which favor a slower comsumption like comedies or dramas.
On the other hand, content distribution while binge watchingminimizes the time that the average user needs to formalize an active viewing decision with hierarchical and personalized content. This suggests that "the intensity of the use of a service reduces the possibility of canceling it", explains Neira.
On the other hand, those who favor weekly distribution enjoy feeding their craving to know what will happen next, and enjoy the surprises that the content offers when it diverges from what has been anticipated. Each format has its advantages and disadvantages, so it is therefore a question of the users taste, and how much free time they have.
With information from: www.innovacionaudiovisual.com www.lanacion.com.arand Original serialized stories by Elena Neira
