According to recent Ampere Analysis data, when it comes to releasing new series, Netflix pioneered the binge-viewing model, and still offers the vast majority of its Original TV seasons as full-season releases. However, other major streamers are taking a more balanced approach between these full-season drops and more gradual release styles. Between H1 2024 and H1 2025, Netflix released 84% of its new seasons as one package. For rival SVoD platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and Disney+ this figure was closer to 60%, while Apple TV+ and HBO Max were most hesitant on the full-season release, employing it approximately 30% of the time.
Without a linear schedule to adhere to, streamers have been able to experiment with how they release content. A season debuting with multiple episodes on the premiere day, followed by weekly episode releases – a ‘stacked premiere followed by weekly release’ – is a popular way to release new content. This is how both "Shōgun" Season 1 (on Hulu and Disney+) and "Reacher" Season 3 (on Amazon Prime) were released. Indeed, Apple TV+ uses this strategy for 50% of new releases, and it is also common at Paramount+ and Hulu. Releasing multiple episodes per week over several weeks, as seen with "Andor" Season 2 on Disney+ and "The Legend of Vox Machina" Season 3 on Amazon Prime, is another common strategy.
There are certain advantages to releasing content more gradually. Multiple-episode releases upfront allow more content to immediately hook audiences in the initial release period. The longer runtime of two or three premiere episodes can have a larger impact on hours consumed in that week, which in turn can help to generate good press from the datasets that track the top watched programmes. Then, subsequent releases over the following weeks can help retain audiences across multiple monthly pay cycles for the subscription.