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As streamers test out varying release strategies for their television series, new data from Samba TV reveals that consumers are more likely to complete a show that they can binge in bulk, regardless of buzz.
According to the firm, about 45% of households surveyed finished a show during the first half of 2023 that was released in bulk, compared to 39% of households who finish a show released in multipart drops and 35% who finish a show dropped weekly.
“That’s millions of viewers who are starting but not completing a series,” Samba TV’s vice president of measurement products Cole Strain told TheGrill, TheWrap’s annual business conference, on Wednesday.
About 61% of households were able to complete Season 1 of “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story,” while 59% completed “Vikings Valhalla” Season 2, 56% completed “Ginny & Georgia” Season 2, 52% completed “Ted Lasso” Season 3, 50% completed “The Mandalorian” Season 3 and 48% completed “Succession” Season 4.
Approximately 70% of millennial respondents surveyed by Samba TV said they would be more likely to keep a streaming service that releases shows in bulk.
According to the firm, 72% of U.S. adults surveyed identified themselves as binge-watchers, with around 47% of households that watched the top bingeable premieres in the first half of 2023 doing so in five days on average.
The biggest spike in viewership for original programming came within the first 15 days of release, Samba found.
When looking at the top 50 originals in the first half of 2023, Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video’s programs dominated in reach. Netflix made up 47 out of 50 of those programs.
“That’s 1.5 times as high as the top viewers of the other top streaming programs,” Strain said. “They’re 1.5 times as likely to come back to Netflix.”
For viewers who watched only one original show, Hulu was the stickiest platform (59%), followed by Max (54%), Apple TV+ (52%), Paramount+ (47%), Prime Video (45%), Disney+ (43%) and Netflix (27%).
The most-viewed program on each service among viewers who watched one original show included “Ginny & Georgia,” “The Mandalorian,” Tom Clancy’s “Jack Ryan,” “1923,” “Ted Lasso,” “The Last of Us” and “The Kardashians.”
When looking at viewers who watched watched two or more original shows, Netflix led the pack (71%) followed by Disney+ (57%), Prime Video (55%), Paramount+ (53%), Apple TV+ (48%), Max (46%) and Hulu (41%).
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