Netflix joins virtual YouTuber boom in Japan

TOKYO - Netflix has joined Japan's booming virtual Youtuber - or VTuber - scene with the launch of an animated character to promote its growing anime streaming offering.

N-ko, a "sheep-human lifeform", is Netflix's attempt to tap into the appeal of VTubers - characters animated by motion capture that have built a loyal audience on YouTube in Japan by singing, dancing and interacting with fans.

The character is performed by a company employee and will introduce anime shows available on the streaming service, according to a video uploaded on YouTube on Tuesday.

Netflix and other streaming services hungry for content are turning to anime to secure local subscribers and exploit the global market for such shows that is seen by many in the industry as undercommercialized.

Japanese anime and Korean drama "play really well around the region as well as in-country and occasionally could be very, very global in their interest and desire", Netflix Co-CEO Theodore Sarandos said on an earnings call last week.

Anime is among industries boosted by spending during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a movie from horror fantasy series "Demon Slayer" breaking domestic records and reporting a strong opening weekend in the United States last week.

(Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Giles Elgood)

-reuters-

Bridgerton sets new Netflix record with 82 million viewers

NEW YORK - Bridgerton has become Netflix's most popular new series, with more than 82 million households tuning in to watch the period drama, the streaming service has announced.

The show reached number 1 in 83 countries including the United States, Britain, Brazil, France, India and South Africa, Netflix said in a statement Wednesday.

"I'm so proud of the incredible team behind this show! And thank you guys for loving it," 25-year-old actor, Phoebe Dynevor, who plays Daphne Bridgerton, wrote on Instagram.

Netflix said a record 82 million households watched the show in its first 28 days online, describing it as its "biggest series ever."

The previous record was 76 million views over a 4-week period for "The Witcher."

The figures are not subject to third party verification, unlike audience measurements for broadcast television.

Bridgerton has made the top 10 in every country except Japan, the company added.

The drama, set in early 1800s London, centers on the well-to-do Bridgerton family as it tries to navigate Regency-era high society in England. 

The show, with its outlandish costumes and racy sex scenes, has been lauded for casting Black actors in period drama roles that are traditionally played by white actors.

"It's designed to be more lavish, sexier and funnier than the standard period drama -- and that's what so surprised and delighted our members," said Netflix vice president of original series, Jinny Howe.

Bridgerton is produced by acclaimed American producer Shonda Rhimes and is based on a series of romance novels by Julia Quinn.

It has been commissioned for a second series.

Agence France-Presse

Netflix keeps growing in pandemic, tops 200 million subscribers

SAN FRANCISCO - Netflix on Tuesday delivered stronger-than-expected subscriber growth in the past quarter, keeping ahead of new streaming rivals competing for viewers stuck in their homes during the coronavirus pandemic.

The streaming television leader added some 8.5 million paid subscribers in the quarter to reach 203 million, topping 200 million despite recent price hikes, its quarterly earning update showed.

Netflix shares jumped more than 12 percent in after-market trades following the release.

Profits dipped to $542 million in the fourth quarter, compared with $587 million in the same period in 2019. But overall revenue in the quarter surged 21.5 percent to $6.6 billion.

For the full year, Netflix added a record 37 million paid memberships, according to the earnings report.

"We're enormously grateful that in these uniquely challenging times we’ve been able to provide our members around the world with a source of escape, connection and joy while continuing to build our business," Netflix said in a letter to investors.

Paid membership increased 23 percent in the final quarter of 2020 when compared with the same period a year earlier, but average revenue per membership was flat, according to the Silicon Valley based company.

While Netflix raised rates slightly in the US late last year, the majority -- some 83 percent -- of its new subscribers were from outside North America, the earnings report indicated.

FILMS TO LAUNCH

Netflix has invested heavily in original shows and films to make itself a must-have service in the increasingly competitive streaming television market.

Apple, Comcast, Disney and others have taken on Netflix with streaming television services of their own

"The big growth in streaming entertainment has led legacy competitors like Disney, WarnerMedia and Discovery to compete with us in new ways, which we’ve been expecting for many years," Netflix said in the letter.

"This is, in part, why we have been moving so quickly to grow and further strengthen our original content library across a wide range of genres and nations."

Netflix executives said its productions are back up and running in most regions after being derailed by the pandemic.

Netflix boasted having more than 500 titles in post-production or being readied for release on the service, with the plan being to launch at least one new original film weekly.

Already the master of the pandemic-era movie landscape, Netflix last week offered a preview of upcoming 2021 releases, a list with no fewer than 70 star-studded feature films. 

From drama, comedy and science fiction to horror and even Westerns, the slate will take in every major film genre before the year is out, with some releases poised as potential competition for major awards. 

Among the most-anticipated titles is "Don't Look Up," from filmmaker Adam McKay of "The Big Short" and "Vice" fame and starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

"The Harder They Fall," a Western co-produced by Jay-Z and with a primarily Black cast including Regina King and Idris Elba, also promises to be one to look out for. 

The announcement -- via a brochure on the streamer's website -- was accompanied by a short video presented by "Wonder Woman" star Gal Gadot, "Jumanji" lead Dwayne Johnson and "Deadpool" actor Ryan Reynolds. 

Johnson, Gadot and Reynolds will appear in "Red Notice," an action film with a $160 million budget, according to US media. 

Agence France-Presse

Hana Kimura, Japanese wrestler and ‘Terrace House’ star, dead at 22

Hana Kimura, a professional Japanese wrestler who was part of the cast of the latest season of Netflix's reality show "Terrace House," has died. She was 22. 

Stardom Wrestling, a women's wrestling organization in Japan that signed her, confirmed the news on Saturday, writing to their fans: "We are very sorry to report that our Hana Kimura has passed away."


"Please be respectful and allow some time for things to process, and keep your thoughts and prayers with her family and friends. We appreciate your support during this difficult time." 

A cause of death was not mentioned.

Reports on her death have noted that Kimura had been sharing social media posts implying that she was bullied online. 

Her last post on Instagram, which showed her with her cat, read: "I love you, have a long, happy life. I'm sorry." 

Kimura was one of the main cast members of "Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020," prior to the show being suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She joined the show back in October. 

"Terrace House" is a reality show following the lives of six strangers, three men and three women, who live in one house. 

Kimura's mother was a well-known wrestler, Kyoko Kimura.

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Netflix banks on vast production line to weather pandemic

LOS ANGELES - While coronavirus has brought Hollywood to a halt, Netflix has enjoyed record success. But will the streaming giant's well-stocked slate of future shows be enough to maintain that growth?

Netflix announced this week that it has finished filming the majority of movies and series due for release this year, playing down concerns that its flow of hit shows such as "Tiger King" could run dry, or the next "Unorthodox" be delayed.

"Our 2020 slate of series and films are largely shot, and are in post-production remotely in locations all over the world," said content chief Ted Sarandos.

"And we're actually pretty deep into our 2021 slate. So we're not anticipating moving things around."


Analysts say Netflix's scale, in terms of its sheer number of ongoing productions and global presence, make it best-placed to weather the pandemic storm.

"Any other studio... might have 4 or 5 films in the can, or in post-production that they can still work on. But Netflix has possibly hundreds," said Jeff Bock, senior analyst at Exhibitor Relations.

"There are so many productions that are financed by Netflix, it's almost mind-boggling. They're almost putting out as much content as all the studios put together."

The deep-pocketed platform can also turn to its vast network of overseas partners to license content -- often subtitled -- for domestic audiences.

HURT 

But even Netflix's content pipeline has inevitable limits if an unprecedented shutdown nobody could have predicted extends much longer.

"They like to put out a lot of content, each and every week," said Bock. "Maybe as we go along into the fourth or fifth month in terms of lockdowns... they certainly will be ahead of the game, but they'll certainly be hurt."

New, original programming plays a bigger part in Netflix's appeal than rival platforms like Disney+ -- home to the Mouse House's enviable 80-year back catalog. 

"People are, in a sense, distracted by all the archival content -- they can watch shows over and over," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior Comscore analyst. "There's a lot of buffer there."

With the streaming wars heating up, Netflix has lost evergreen hits like "Friends" and "The Office" to upcoming rivals HBO Max and Peacock.

The delay of this summer's entire movie theater blockbuster slate also means those films will arrive later at streamers such as Netflix, according to Steve Nason, research director at Parks Associates.

"Maybe not in the short term, but in the longer term, that hurts Netflix," he said.

'BETTER SHAPE' 

But Netflix has another tool at its disposal: its ability to find ways to keep making new content.

Thanks to rapid global expansion, Netflix is now ramping up production in countries that are easing restrictions -- namely Iceland and South Korea -- while Hollywood remains closed.

"Certainly the Netflix brand is worldwide -- there's no reason why they can't buy their own island honestly and shoot things there," Bock told AFP.

Its recent successes in reality TV, such as "Love is Blind" and "Too Hot to Handle," point to avenues requiring smaller crews and with rapid turnaround times.

Netflix quickly capitalized on the phenomenal success of surreal zookeeper documentary "Tiger King" with a follow-up episode featuring interviews with show alumni conducted via low-budget video calls.

"A lot of different content distributors are looking into (documentary programming) in the short term, to fill some of those holes," said Nason. "Netflix has already done that."

"If the production halt goes on nine to 12 months, everyone is going to be hurt," he added. "But compared to some of their competitors... (Netflix) are going to be in much better shape."

Agence France-Presse 

Netflix adds 15.8 million customers during quarantine

Netflix Inc on Tuesday reported a surge in new sign-ups as audiences stayed in their homes to help fight the novel coronavirus and binged on series such as "Tiger King," but the company predicted a weaker second half of the year if quarantine orders are lifted.

The world's largest streaming service gained 15.8 million paying customers in the first three months of the year, bringing its global total to 182.9 million at the end of March. That nearly doubled the average Wall Street expectation of nearly 8 million, according to FactSet.

The company warned, however, that it expected fewer new customers from July to December compared with a year earlier. Many people who would have joined then are likely to have already signed up, executives said.

"We expect viewing to decline and membership growth to decelerate as home confinement ends," Netflix said in a letter to shareholders.

Shares of Netflix rose 1.2% to $439 in after-hours trading.

The company is among the few businesses to benefit from government orders imposed in March to keep people in isolation amid the coronavirus threat. While the S&P 500 Index has fallen 19% from its Feb. 19 record high, Netflix has gained 11% during the same period.

Netflix also issued a bullish forecast that it would add 7.5 million new customers for the current quarter, which ends in June, though the company said it was "mostly guesswork" given uncertainty over when stay-at-home orders might be lifted. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected 3.8 million.

For the just-ended quarter, Netflix's earnings per share fell short of analyst expectations. The company posted diluted earnings per share of $1.57, below the $1.65 consensus, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Total revenue rose to $5.77 billion from $4.52 billion. Analysts on average had expected $5.76 billion.

Appreciation of the US dollar, due partially to the coronavirus crisis, dragged on international revenue, the company said.

In the quarter, Netflix true-crime documentary "Tiger King" about a colorful zookeeper became a cultural sensation. It also released reality show "Love is Blind" and a new season of Spanish-language thriller "Money Heist."

As streaming video has grown in the United States, the market has become more competitive with the debut of Walt Disney Co's Disney+ and upcoming rivals. That has pushed Netflix to look for growth overseas.

The company's biggest expansion from January through March came from Europe, where it added 4.4 million new customers.

The most popular Netflix plan in the United States costs $13, nearly double the $7-per-month cost for Disney+.

-reuters-

Netflix streams some educational films on YouTube for free

Netflix Inc said on Friday it had made some documentary features and series, including "Our Planet" and "Explained", available on the company's YouTube channel for free at the request of teachers.

The move comes as the coronavirus outbreak has forced educational institutions to shut down, and confined millions of students to their homes, compelling schools and colleges to tap virtual tools to keep the classes running.

The decision to make some content free on YouTube is a rare exception to Netflix's marketing strategy, which otherwise charges a monthly subscription fee from users to avail its services.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has driven an internet boom, boosting shares of Netflix, the company faces tightening competition from Apple TV+ and Disney+, which has attracted more than 50 million paid users globally.

"For many years, Netflix has allowed teachers to screen documentaries in their classrooms. However, this isn't possible with schools closed," the company said in a blog post explaining the move.

-reuters-

Netflix to reduce streaming quality in Europe to avoid internet overload

BRUSSELS -- Netflix will reduce the quality of its streaming in Europe to ease pressure on the internet, the firm said, as demand soars across the continent where millions are confined to their homes over coronavirus fears.

The streaming giant will "begin reducing bit rates across all our streams in Europe for 30 days," a spokesperson said in a statement.

"We estimate that this will reduce Netflix traffic on European networks by around 25 percent while also ensuring a good quality service for our members," the statement added.

With wide-ranging lockdowns and quarantines, schools, shops and borders closed and gatherings banned, people across Europe are increasingly turning to the internet to stave off boredom.

But the huge file sizes of high definition offerings from web giants like Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, HBO and Amazon are slowing the web, Thierry Breton, the EU commissioner for the internal market and digital economy warned.

"Teleworking and streaming help a lot but infrastructures might be in strain," he said in a tweet Thursday, calling for online platforms to switch to streaming in standard definition instead of HD.

Gamers breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday after the end of an hours-long network outage that affected Nintendo's online games and prompted despair from users.

"Only a few days into the coronavirus self-isolation and Nintendo servers are already down... oh dear god," tweeted one.

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Netflix to release 'Top 10' feature in push toward transparency, ease of search

Netflix Inc on Monday announced plans to launch a new Top 10 feature that will allow users to see the most popular TV series and films in their country.

The Los Gatos, California, company has guarded its viewership data for years and only recently started revealing information about how many people watch its shows.

Director of Product Innovation Cameron Johnson wrote in a company blog post that Netflix would update the Top 10 feature daily. It will include an overall top 10 list as well as lists for the most popular TV series and films.

Shows that make these lists will be designated with a "Top 10" badge elsewhere on the platform. The streaming giant has been experimenting with top 10 lists in Mexico and the United Kingdom for the last six months, wrote Johnson.

Netflix uses an algorithm to serve up content based on a user's viewing history, but still faces criticism that it is difficult to browse. The Top 10 list addresses that criticism, and also reflects a trend by the company to be more transparent about how its shows are performing.

In December Netflix released a list of its most popular shows and films of 2019 in the United States, based on the number of households watching at least two minutes of a series, movie or special during its first 28 days on the service. The numbers were not verified by a third party.

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Netflix review: Adam Sandler is serious and screwed in 'Uncut Gems'

Howie Ratner perilously juggled his gems dealing business with his addiction to high-stakes gambling, for which he has incurred a huge debts for various creditors. It reached a point when he would take out a loan to place a bet usually on the outcome of NBA basketball games, and used his winnings to pay off another debt in a vicious circle.

One day, he was able to get his hand on a piece of rock from Ethiopia which contained a huge lode of opal, which he had committed for a gems auction. When basketball superstar Kevin Garnett desperately wanted to own the opal for its perceived energy, Ratner thought this was his way out of his most major debts from ruthless loan sharks. 

I first heard about "Uncut Gems" when its lead actor Adam Sandler won the best actor award from the National Board of Review early last month. That was really big surprising news for me. Not only because Sandler is not exactly noted for his dramatic acting chops, but even his comedy acting had taken quite a bad rap in recent years. Now here, he actually won best actor in a year dominated by Joaquin Phoenix's "Joker" and that is truly incredible. (I felt bad that Sandler was snubbed for an Oscar nomination for this performance as this would probably be his closest brush with it.) 

Sandler's Howie was not a likable guy. He was loud and sleazy in speech and fashion. He split his time with his legal wife Dinah (Idina Menzel) and his employee girlfriend Julia (Julia Fox). He was street-smart to a fault, always trying to sweet talk his way out of the tight fixes he found himself caught in because of his risky activities. 

As the film went along, things do get out of hand, and that reflected on Sandler's increasingly panicked vocal inflections and erratic behavior. Sandler still had some of his known joker in Howie, but the stress here was definitely real and palpable. 

Aside from the inherent suspense of Howie's dangerously chaotic obsessions, director/co-writer brothers Josh and Benny Safdie also gave this project a lot of esoteric touches. The opening shot was that of an extreme closeup of the patterns within a gemstone which segued to an endoscopic view of a colon, which went around vice versa at the end. 

Another innovative feature was its most unusual musical soundtrack, which used psychedelic tunes seemingly totally unconnected to the action onscreen. It was distractingly bizarre at first, but later that music becomes a mesmerizing aspect. 

Noisy, shouty and profane, this is not for everybody. However, I was betting this could have been an Oscar nominee for best picture, but too bad it did not make the final list. 

This review was originally published in the author's blog, "Fred Said."

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These Studio Ghibli films will soon be available on Netflix

MANILA – A total of 21 films from the Oscar-winning Japanese art house Studio Ghibli will soon be available on Netflix.

The streaming service made the announcement on Monday, saying the Studio Ghibli movies will be made available through the Paris-based independent film sales company Wild Bunch International.

The partnership will allow users in Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America to enjoy animated classics such as “Spirited Away” and “My Neighbor Totoro” as these will be subtitled in 28 languages, and dubbed in up to 20 languages.

“In this day and age, there are various great ways a film can reach audiences. We’ve listened to our fans and have made the definitive decision to stream our film catalog. We hope people around the world will discover the world of Studio Ghibli through this experience,” said Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki.

Aram Yacoubian, director of original animation at Netflix, for his part said: “Studio Ghibli is world-renowned for creating visually stunning, original animated films that have enthralled fans for over 35 years. We are excited and humbled to help make this catalog of films easier to discover and access, and believe that these masterpieces will resonate with even more fans around the world now that they are available in more languages.” 

“We look forward to welcoming a new generation of fans into the whimsical worlds and wonderful protagonists created by the amazing artists of Studio Ghibli.”

Check out the release schedule for Studio Ghibli films on Netflix below:

FEBRUARY 1, 2020

- Castle in the Sky (1986)
- My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
- Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
- Only Yesterday (1991)
- Porco Rosso (1992) 
- Ocean Waves (1993)
- Tales from Earthsea (2006)

MARCH 1, 2020

- Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
- Princess Mononoke (1997)
- My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999)
- Spirited Away (2001)
- The Cat Returns (2002)
- Arrietty (2010)
- The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013)

APRIL 1, 2020

- Pom Poko (1994)
- Whisper of the Heart (1995)
- Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
- Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (2008) 
- From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)
- The Wind Rises (2013) 
- When Marnie Was There (2014)

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Brazil's Supreme Court overturns censorship of gay Jesus special

BRASILIA/SAO PAULO - Brazil's Supreme Court on Thursday overturned an injunction against Netflix Inc that had prevented the video streaming service from showing a domestically-made controversial Christmas special that depicts Jesus as gay.

The Supreme Court president, Justice Dias Toffoli, said that the U.S. streaming platform should be allowed to continue showing the program, saying that freedom of speech was fundamental in a democracy.

"The satire will not affect the Christian faith of Brazilians," he said.

On Wednesday, a court in Rio de Janeiro had ordered Netflix to stop showing the content in Brazil. In its Thursday filing, Netflix criticized that decision for censoring the comedy group Porta dos Fundos, which produced the show.

On Christmas Eve, a group of hooded men attacked the headquarters of Porta dos Fundos with Molotov cocktails. No one was hurt, but police said they were investigating the incident as an attempted homicide after a group claimed responsibility in a video including a far-right religious statement.

The Rio state judge said in his decision that showing the special "would harm a society that is mostly Christian."

Lawyers for Netflix contended in their appeal that "the court decision aims to silence the group through fear and intimidation."

In a statement before the Supreme Court decision, Porta dos Fundos said the group values freedom of speech and "trusts the courts to defend the Brazilian constitution." (Reporting by Ricardo Brito in Brasilia; Additional reporting by Gabriela Mello in Sao Paulo; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Rosalba O'Brien)

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Netflix says 'Murder Mystery' its most popular US release in 2019

NEW YORK—Netflix Inc's original film "Murder Mystery," starring Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler, topped a list of the streaming service's most popular releases of 2019 in the United States, Netflix said in a statement on Monday.

The third season of the science fiction series “Stranger Things” came in second on the list, followed by the Michael Bay action movie "6 Underground." The animated movie "Incredibles 2" and Martin Scorsese's gangster film "The Irishman" took the fourth and fifth spots, respectively.

The ranking was based on the number of households watching at least 2 minutes of a series, movie or special during its first 28 days on Netflix in 2019, the streaming service said.

Netflix, which boasts more than 158 million subscribers around the world, only selectively releases viewership figures for programming it considers a hit, and the numbers are not verified by a third party.

Executives at Netflix have said they plan to be more transparent with audience data to satisfy Hollywood producers and stars and to help viewers decide what to watch.

The limited details on what grabbed Netflix viewers' attention this year came ahead of the company's Jan. 21 quarterly earnings report, which will disclose revenue and membership by region for the first time.

The streaming heavyweight is facing new competition, particularly from Walt Disney Co, which has been removing its movies from Netflix and putting them on the Disney+ streaming service.

Netflix shares have risen 23 percent this year, the smallest annual rise in 3 years. The S&P 500 Index is up 29 percent for the year.

Top 10 most popular releases of 2019 (US)

 1. Murder Mystery
 2. Stranger Things 3
 3. 6 Underground
 4. Incredibles 2
 5. The Irishman
 6. The Witcher
 7. Triple Frontier
 8. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
 9. The Umbrella Academy
 10. The Highwaymen

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Netflix cozies up to brands as it shuns commercials

Netflix subscribers like being able to glide through entire seasons of “Stranger Things” and “The Crown” without sitting through commercials for insurance and SUVs with bows on the hood. Subscriptions, rather than advertising, drive its nearly $16 billion in annual revenue, and being commercial-free “remains a deep part of our brand proposition,” Netflix said in a statement.

While it is the dominant streaming platform, with 158 million global subscribers, Netflix also has a $12 billion pile of debt. And it is facing competition from deep-pocketed streaming newcomers like the Walt Disney Co. and Apple. Research firm eMarketer said this month that Netflix’s “days at the top may be numbered,” and many analysts and executives wonder if, in order to keep its revenue strong, it will have to embrace ads.

“I don’t know why they wouldn’t,” said Peter Naylor, head of advertising sales for streaming platform Hulu.

Even as Netflix resists commercials, it is finding ways to work with brands. Last month, Netflix worked with sandwich chain Subway to start offering a Green Eggs and Ham Sub (spinach-dyed eggs, sliced ham, guacamole, cheese) tied to the new Netflix series “Green Eggs and Ham,” based on the Dr. Seuss book. The sandwich generated a lot of publicity for Netflix in the lifestyle press while also putting the Netflix name in front of the millions of people who buy a Subway sandwich each day.

“We believe we will have a more valuable business in the long term,” Netflix said, “by staying out of competing for ad revenue and instead entirely focusing on competing for viewer satisfaction.”

In another recent cross-promotion, Netflix charged the clothing company Diesel a license fee to make outfits inspired by “La Casa de Papel,” one of Netflix’s most popular shows. Online ads from Diesel hammered home the connection by showing the Netflix name, mentioning “La Casa de Papel” and featuring characters in the distinctive red jumpsuits worn by the show’s protagonists.

Netflix is “actively beefing up its marketing team,” according to research firm Forrester. “They’re being more flexible in the types of partnerships they can offer,” said Ellie Bamford, an executive at marketing agency R/GA.

When Netflix worked with Samsung and Aviation American Gin on a commercial last month featuring actor Ryan Reynolds and his new Netflix film “6 Underground,” no money changed hands. For Netflix, such deals are mostly about keeping people aware of the Netflix brand.

Netflix declined to say whether deals with companies would become a larger revenue stream in the future.

But companies have long been eager to go into business with Netflix, even before it scored 34 Golden Globe nominations this month. The platform has something brands crave: a young audience. Its average viewer is 31, part of a group highly sought by companies as younger people avoid broadcast and cable television and are known to hate ads.

“Brands want to be in front of this audience,” Bamford said. “Reaching these unreachables, these cord-cutters who don’t want to be fed an ad, is a huge concern.”

Major companies flirt with Netflix on social media, and Netflix is flirting back. This month, the company’s Twitter account, with 7 million followers, participated in a saucy meme about things people say during sex, trading quips about it with the Wendy’s Twitter account (3.4 million followers) and Penguin Random House (1.3 million followers). Last spring, Netflix posted a tweet that included a photo of nine cast members from one of its original shows, “Sense8,” as they appeared to be celebrating in an Audi convertible, and then had a joking exchange about it with the Audi account (2 million followers).

In contrast to its cheery social-media tone, Netflix is “not necessarily the easiest to work with” on promotional partnerships with companies, said Stacy Jones, chief executive of the entertainment marketing company Hollywood Branded. She described Netflix as “very picky,” saying it “wants to be the lead.”

“They’re in a power position right now,” Jones said. “They know the market, and they’re controlling it and keeping it very tight.”

Netflix is careful to guard its reputation, asking some of the companies it has worked with to avoid putting its logo on dart boards, paper napkins and doormats. But marketing executives said Netflix was increasingly open to lending its name to outside projects, including joint marketing campaigns and products based on its shows.

With so much content, Netflix has had trouble sustaining attention for some shows, which can come and go in a weekend of binge-watching, never to be mentioned again. The arrangements with the brands are one way it can keep attention focused on a given program. This month, Netflix posted a job listing for someone who would develop products, games and events to “drive meaningful show awareness” and make them “part of the zeitgeist for longer periods of time.”

Netflix has a brand partnerships group, led by executive Barry Smyth, which works with companies to use Netflix’s name in promotional campaigns and has recently hired people away from Fox, Lionsgate and other media companies. In a recent job listing for a position in Europe, Netflix said it wanted to “amplify the scope and impact of our marketing campaigns when we work with other brands.”

This summer, Netflix’s biggest series, “Stranger Things,” a supernatural sci-fi show set in the 1980s, struck deals with 75 companies. In one, Netflix teamed up with Baskin Robbins on new ice cream flavors like the chocolate-icing-topped Eleven’s Heaven, named after the character Eleven, and Upside Down Pralines, a reference to the alternate dimension in the show, the Upside Down. In another deal, Coca-Cola briefly revived the failed 1985 beverage New Coke, which appeared in “Stranger Things” episodes, adding to its retro atmosphere.

The brands did not pay to appear on the show, but Netflix took a licensing fee for a “Stranger Things” promotion in London designed by immersive-theater company Secret Cinema, which recreated a mall from the series that sold special cosmetics from Mac and products from Coach. The pop-up mall opened in November, four months after Netflix made the show’s third season available to subscribers.

The platform does not need to make money from major companies to benefit from working with them. The idea is to fuel subscriptions by drumming up interest in its shows through alliances with “brands where we feel like their audience will love our content as much as our audience does,” Netflix said in a statement.

In a conference call with analysts this year, Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings said the “Stranger Things” promotions were intended “to get more people excited about ‘Stranger Things,’ so they join Netflix, they tell their friends about it.”

The same logic may extend to product placements. Netflix has typically left such decisions up to individual producers, saying in a statement that “most of the brands that appear in shows and movies are added by creators who believe they add to the authenticity of the story.” Netflix added that “instances where those placements are paid are rare and not a business focus for us.”

That is a contrast with many of Netflix’s rivals, which have actively courted companies with offers to display their products on-screen — even introducing them to showrunners and providing them with script drafts. Hulu, for instance, has a team dedicated to working brands into its shows, with the number of paid arrangements increasing 200% from 2018 to 2019, it said. Netflix does not have an equivalent team.

Still, products have appeared in Netflix shows for years. (In 2013, a blogger posted a slideshow of at least 57 corporate mentions on “House of Cards.”) Research last year suggested that more brand-name products appeared on shows tagged as Netflix Originals compared with the ones it streams from other studios.

In the recent post-apocalyptic series “Daybreak,” characters comment on the array of products stockpiled in an apartment: Red Bull energy drinks, Settlers of Catan board games, Tide Pods and more. None of the companies paid to be included. But such product placements can be a boon to producers who are looking to have realistic props in a scene without having to pay for them.

In the new Netflix holiday movie “The Knight Before Christmas,” a character spends nearly three minutes exploring a Sony television and Amazon’s Echo smart speaker. Both products were included free, but their presence set off a flurry of news articles and discussions on social media. Although much of the commentary was mocking, it drew attention to an otherwise standard seasonal film.

Such appearances are part of a long history of corporate cameos, like Ray-Ban in “Top Gun” and Reese’s Pieces in “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.” Mike Myers even joked about product placement in “Wayne’s World”: “I will not bow to any sponsor,” he declared, posing with a slice from Pizza Hut.

Some streaming subscribers have deemed the constant presence of products to be annoying and “a big turnoff.” And many companies have tired of the effort that goes into negotiating product placements, wondering whether a few TV commercials and billboards could reach the same number of people with less trouble.

Carrie Drinkwater, executive director of integrated investments at the Mediahub agency, said her team once tried to fit a client into the plot of the Netflix show “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” only to balk after the production company involved set an “astronomical” price.

“It’s a lot of money to integrate,” she said, “and it’s really hard to do it in an authentic way, and you don’t know how much it will resonate.”

2019 The New York Times Company

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Meeting Henry Cavill

A fan takes a photo of Henry Cavill during an event at Ayala Malls Manila Bay on Thursday. Cavill, most popularly known for his roles as Superman, is in the country to promote the Netflix original series "The Witcher" where he stars as the lead character Geralt of Rivia. 

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Netflix makes deal to keep one of NY's oldest theaters open

NEW YORK — Streaming giant Netflix will use New York's historic Paris theater, which had been shuttered earlier this year, for special events and screenings of its films -- the latest twist in the company's ongoing spat with the traditional film industry.

The theater -- the city's last single screen movie house, located in the heart of Manhattan on 57th Street, not far from Central Park and the Plaza hotel -- closed in late August after 71 years in business.

It had reopened in early November for what seemed like a one-off event -- a limited theatrical run for Netflix's Oscar contender "Marriage Story" by New York director Noah Baumbach.

But it would seem that Netflix had bigger plans.

"Now, the iconic theater will be kept open and become a home for special Netflix events, screenings, and theatrical releases," the company said Monday in a series of Twitter messages.

The details of the deal were not disclosed, but industry site Deadline Hollywood said it was a 10-year lease agreement.

Netflix has been in a low-grade battle with traditional Hollywood for some time over the Oscar eligibility requirements that films in contention run in regular theaters for a certain period of time. 

But many major theater chains have refused to deal with Netflix unless it consents to longer runs of its films -- and a longer waiting period between any film's theatrical release and its streaming debut. 

Currently, the waiting period generally agreed upon by studios and the major chains is 90 days.

That means Netflix has relied thus far on indie movie houses for its releases, but the leasing of the Paris Theater would seem to mark a new phase in its strategy.

For months, it has reportedly been in talks to buy the historic Egyptian Theater in Hollywood.

On Monday, Deadline Hollywood reported that Netflix had indeed acquired a majority stake in that Los Angeles venue, but Netflix has yet to confirm the deal.

The Paris opened in 1948, when screen legend Marlene Dietrich cut the ribbon. 

It turned into one of the country's most notable art house theaters, focusing on films often ignored by multiplexes

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Seismic shift: Streaming is about to change everything

LOS ANGELES — Every three decades, or roughly once a generation, Hollywood experiences a seismic shift. The transition from silent films to talkies in the 1920s. The rise of broadcast television in the 1950s. The raucous “I Want My MTV” cable boom of the 1980s.

It is happening again. The long-promised streaming revolution — the next great leap in how the world gets its entertainment — is finally here.

Streaming services, of course, have been challenging the Hollywood status quo for years. Netflix began streaming movies and television shows in 2007 and has grown into a giant, spending $12 billion on programming this year to entertain 166 million subscribers worldwide. There are 271 online video services available in the United States, according to the research firm Parks Associates, one for seemingly every predilection — Pongalo for telenovelas, AeroCinema for aviation documentaries, Shudder for horror movies, Horse Lifestyle for equine-themed content. (Offerings include a series called “Marvin the Tap Dancing Horse.”)

While all this was happening, however, the three biggest old-line media companies — Disney, NBCUniversal and WarnerMedia — largely stayed on the sidelines. Charging into the streaming fray would mean putting billions of dollars in profit from existing cable networks like USA, Disney Channel and TBS at risk. Building video platforms of the size needed to compete with Netflix and Amazon would be frightfully expensive. And mastering the underlying technology would require a sharp learning curve. Better to bide their time. When it became clear that protecting their existing business model was more perilous than embracing the future, no matter now disruptive in the near term, they would act.

That time is now. And everything is changing.

“I get asked all the time, ‘Where does this stop? When does it stop?’” said Brett Sappington, a senior Parks Associates analyst and researcher. “The truth is that it is only getting started.”

Disney Plus arrived Tuesday and costs less ($6.99 a month) than a single tub of popcorn at big-city movie theaters. It allows anyone with a high-speed internet connection to instantly watch Disney, Pixar, “Star Wars” and Marvel movies, along with original series and films, 30 seasons of “The Simpsons” and 7,500 episodes of old Disney-branded TV shows. “We’re all in,” Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive, said in April at an event unveiling the service.

Disney said Wednesday that more than 10 million people had already signed up for the service. Analysts had been hoping for 8 million by the end of the year.

In May, WarnerMedia will introduce HBO Max ($14.99 a month), which will offer 10,000 hours of instant entertainment, including the entirety of “Friends” and “South Park,” hundreds of Warner Bros. movies, everything Batman, the HBO library, 50 years’ worth of “Sesame Street” episodes, and CNN documentaries. “We’re all in,” John Stankey, WarnerMedia’s chief executive, said at an HBO Max promotional event on Oct. 29.

Peacock, an NBCUniversal streaming service also scheduled for a spring debut, will offer 15,000 hours of content: complete seasons of “The Office” and “Frasier,” Universal films like “The Fast and the Furious” and “Despicable Me,” Telemundo shows, every episode of “Saturday Night Live,” a new reboot of “Battlestar Galactica.” Peacock, unlike Disney Plus and HBO Max, will carry advertising. NBCUniversal is expected to disclose pricing details (and presumably declare that it is “all in”) at an event of its own in the coming months.

As the Big Three entertainment companies launch their video platforms, streaming competition is mounting from Silicon Valley. Apple rolled out Apple TV Plus on Nov. 1. Facebook and Snapchat are determined to become bigger video forces. And never count out YouTube, part of the Google family. Feeling the need for more “quick bite” videos while standing in line at the grocery store? Quibi, a streaming startup led by Meg Whitman and Jeffrey Katzenberg, is due in April.

The onslaught is upending how Hollywood does business in almost every way.

Instead of relying exclusively on middlemen (cable system operators, multiplex chains) to get shows and movies to viewers, traditional entertainment companies are for the first time selling content directly to consumers. As a result, studios are releasing fewer films in theaters; WarnerMedia said recently that “Superintelligence,” a Melissa McCarthy comedy scheduled for theatrical release in December, would instead debut in the spring — directly on HBO Max.

With more original movies bypassing big screens, the line between TV and film is blurring, prompting once-unthinkable operating questions. Studios, for instance, employ separate executive teams to oversee the development and production of movies and television series. Should that siloed approach end?

There has even been some muttering about whether the Emmys and the Oscars should merge.

So much change is suddenly happening so quickly that viewers are becoming overwhelmed and, studies suggest, not in a good way. For some people, the cable bundle is starting to seem downright manageable in comparison.

“Consumers are upset about the imminent changes in the media landscape,” consumer behavior researchers at the Langston Co, a Colorado consultancy, concluded in a September report. “These negative feelings are driven by fears of fragmentation, erosion of perceived value and the friction-cost of having multiple streaming accounts.”

Nearly 50 percent of consumers are frustrated by the growing number of subscription services required to see the content they want to watch, according to an August white paper by Fluent, a digital marketing company.

Without question, analysts say, the flood of new streaming services will cause more people to cancel traditional cable subscriptions. Cable television is still the entertainment industry’s cash cow, but millions of customers in the United States have already cut the cord. The annual pace of subscriber decline hit 5.4 percent in the second quarter, a statistic Craig Moffett, a senior analyst at MoffettNathanson, referred to in a recent report as “freaking ugly.”

For traditional companies like Disney and NBCUniversal, each of which run vast cable networks, that means reduced ad sales and harder negotiations with distributors over fees. “All signs point to subscriber losses continuing to accelerate,” Richard Greenfield, a founder of the LightShed Partners research firm, wrote in a client note. “Virtually every ambitious, must-see TV show is headed for a direct-to-consumer platform, with TV/basic cable taking the proverbial leftovers.”

Big cable channels like ESPN, Fox News, Bravo and HGTV aren’t going anywhere, but channels that are already poorly rated — BabyFirst, Ovation, Viceland — will have a harder time staying in business, analysts say. The culling of the herd has already started, with cable outlets like Cloo, Esquire, Pivot and Al-Jazeera America calling it quits in recent years. Glenn Beck will pull the plug on his Blaze cable channel next month.

Even so, some of the biggest changes involve talent.

Netflix and other tech companies, including Apple and Amazon, have been steadily poaching writer-producers from established studios and television networks by offering eye-popping pay packages. Kenya Barris (“black-ish”), Ryan Murphy (“American Horror Story”), Shonda Rhimes (“Grey’s Anatomy”) and David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (“Game of Thrones”) have all high-tailed it to Netflix, following stars like Adam Sandler and David Letterman. The establishment has recently been punching back. To keep Greg Berlanti, the TV whiz behind shows like “The Flash” and “Riverdale,” Warner Bros. dug deep into its pockets. Warner completed a similar deal with J.J. Abrams in September.

“There is money being thrown at people and ideas and scripts at a level that has never happened before in Hollywood,” said Sappington, the Parks Associates analyst.

Even Netflix is starting to experience sticker shock. Ted Sarandos, the company’s chief content officer, told analysts on an October conference call that new bidders were driving up prices for “elite” content. “On a very competitive show, there has probably been 30 percent price escalation since last year,” Sarandos said.

Most definitely, streaming money is sloshing through the Hollywood economy. Producers in backwaters like children’s television are now in hot demand. Midlevel publicists are driving new luxury cars. Florists, caterers, set decorators, chauffeurs, hair stylists, headhunters — it’s gravy train time.

But fewer Hollywood people are turning cartwheels than outsiders might think. To keep their content assembly lines speeding (495 scripted original series aired in 2018, an 85 percent increase from 2011) companies are stretching some employees to a breaking point. Because streaming services order fewer episodes and cancel series after shorter runs, rank-and-file writers are having to switch jobs more frequently.

There is also a fundamental shift with employment contracts underway. Disney, for instance, has adopted new terms for TV shows. Under the old model, in place for decades, show creators were paid handsome fees from the beginning. But the big money came in success: a slice of profits from rerun sales. Disney, following a model popularized by Netflix, now offers higher upfront payments but little or no “back end.” Other traditional companies are doing the same; they say it allows for distribution flexibility inside their corporate ecosystems (broadcast, cable, streaming).

The shift has rankled members of the Writers Guild of America, which represents about 13,000 screenwriters and has been whispering about a potential strike. The WGA’s contract with studios expires May 1. Studio contracts with two additional Hollywood unions, SAG-AFTRA (actors) and the Directors Guild of America, expire June 30.

Courtney Kemp, creator of the Starz drama “Power,” campaigned on the topic during September elections for the writers’ guild’s West Coast board. “The companies are looking actively to ‘buy us out’ up front, so they don’t have to share profits with us, and they don’t have to pay us for reuse — and they will never have to tell us the truth about the value of our content,” Kemp wrote in her campaign statement.

“They will own your intellectual property outright and forever,” Kemp continued. “As my 8-year-old daughter would say — no backsies. And that’s an issue worth striking over.”

Revolutions are not known for their tranquility.


2019 The New York Times Company

Behind Apple's 'slow-roll' marketing push to challenge Netflix

Show business may be Apple’s latest big experiment — but it is not the company’s top priority.

How can you tell? By comparing the amount Apple has spent in recent months to advertise Apple TV Plus with how much it has allocated to getting the word out on the latest iPhone.

In October, Apple spent $19.9 million on television commercials for Apple TV Plus, the streaming service that went live Friday with a slate of shows featuring Reese Witherspoon, Jason Momoa and Oprah Winfrey. That same month, according to measurement company iSpot.TV, Apple spent $38.6 million on television ads to market the iPhone.

The same disparity was evident in September, when Apple spent $14.9 million on commercials promoting Apple TV Plus and $28.6 million on television ads for the iPhone, according to iSpot.TV.

Apple applied the same spending strategy to the online push. In October, there were 139 unique digital ads for Apple TV Plus, which cost the company less than $1.7 million, while iPhones were featured in 245 separate ads, which cost an estimated $2.3 million, according to advertising analytics platform Pathmatics. In September, there was an exception. Digital ads for Apple TV Plus that month cost Apple an estimated $3.8 million, compared with $2.4 million for iPhone ads.

Taken together, the company spent a total of $71.9 million on iPhone ads and $40.3 million on Apple TV Plus spots on television and online in the past two months. (Billboard tracking companies said that data for Apple’s recent outdoor ads are not yet available.)

“The marketing is never going to be at the level of iPhone — that continues to be the Rock of Gibraltar for Apple,” said Daniel Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities. “Services like streaming are more like the fuel in the growth engine.”

Apple, which once spent $1.8 billion on advertising in a single year, has a history of getting the most out of introducing new products. Its ad campaigns, including the dystopian “1984” ad for the Macintosh computer during the 1984 Super Bowl and its “Silhouette” campaign for iPods starting in 2003, created brand loyalty by conferring status on supposedly ahead-of-the-curve Apple users. Its publicity department increased desire for Apple products by cleverly doling out information to the news media. And the company’s slick stage presentations helped turn tech execs into celebs and customers into devoted fans.

But as Apple’s first real foray into original entertainment, Apple TV Plus has presented the company with a new marketing challenge. Can its advertising cut through the noise in the increasingly crowded world of entertainment?

Times Square offers a clue. Apple has huge billboards on its southern periphery for several of its Apple TV Plus shows overlooking the throngs of wandering tourists and fast-moving commuters — but it is competing for attention with signage close by for Netflix and HBO.

On the New Jersey side of the Lincoln Tunnel, by contrast, three gargantuan signs for the iPhone 11 Pro, which was announced and made available in September, hang above the three tunnel entrances, dominating the sight lines of captive drivers and passengers in the traffic-clogged patch of Weehawken below.

Lee Clow, who crafted many of Apple’s best-known ads over more than 30 years, announced his retirement in February from TBWA\Media Arts Lab, the agency he founded in 2006 to serve Apple. Geoff Edwards, who has worked on branding for entertainment players like the Walt Disney Company and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, took over creative duties in May for services such as Apple TV Plus, Apple Music and Apple Pay.

Compared with the marketing blitz for Disney Plus, the streaming service that will arrive Nov. 12, the Apple TV Plus campaign seems more muted. Disney has promoted its service, which will include Pixar films and the Marvel franchise, across its many businesses, including theme parks, stores, hotels, cruise lines and TV channels like ABC, ESPN and Freeform.

On Monday, just as the Apple TV Plus series “The Morning Show” was premiering at a lavish event at Lincoln Center, Disney Plus introduced a trailer for its heavily promoted live-action “Star Wars” show “The Mandalorian.” The next day AT&T’s entertainment division, WarnerMedia, held an event in Burbank, California, to promote its wide-ranging HBO Max streaming service, which will includes everything from Sesame Workshop shows to “Game of Thrones” on its May debut.

Dan Rayburn, an analyst with Frost & Sullivan, suggested that it might have been wise of Apple not to do an iPhone-level marketing blast for the service, which has a relatively modest lineup compared to the vast libraries offered by its streaming rivals.

“Consumers are just drowning in content right now, and all of these services are competing for our time,” he said. “But they’re all approaching the market differently. This isn’t some race for Apple. It’s a slow roll.”

Soon after Apple made details about Apple TV Plus available in September, ads for the streaming service seemed to surge. The tech giant barraged the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards with commercials. Spots appeared during football games, sitcoms and talk shows. Billboards went up featuring celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and Momoa.

Momoa, who is starring in the Apple TV Plus show “See,” stopped by “The Graham Norton Show” for the Oct. 25 episode. He compared the show to “Game of Thrones,” saying, “Apple put everything in. They invested big on this one.”

Aniston, who stars with Witherspoon on Apple TV Plus’s “The Morning Show,” went on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” where she talked briefly about the program before discussing “Friends,” the hit sitcom that will soon become an exclusive streaming property on HBO Max. On Thursday, “CBS This Morning” co-host Gayle King aired a more in-depth conversation with Aniston and Witherspoon about the new show.

Some analysts suggest that Apple’s streaming platform, priced at $5 a month, is meant to be a selling point for consumers interested in springing for Apple devices. The iPhone, Apple’s prize product, generated $33.3 billion in sales in the company’s most recent quarter, compared to $12.5 billion from Apple services like the App Store and Apple Music. But iPhone sales have been weakening, which may explain the continued marketing onslaught on its behalf.

The iPhone shows up frequently in Apple TV Plus programs like “The Morning Show,” and Apple’s retail employees will show off the streaming service during occasional in-store sessions.

The company is offering a free year of Apple TV Plus to those who buy a new iPhone, iPad or Mac laptop. Hailee Steinfeld, who stars on the Apple TV Plus show “Dickinson,” said on Instagram this week that students with an Apple Music subscription will also have free access to Apple TV Plus.

It is “only a matter of time” before the company offers Apple TV Plus as part of a bundle with its news, music and gaming offerings, Rayburn said.

Ads for Apple TV Plus have appeared on websites like YouTube, Entertainment Weekly and Vogue, according to Pathmatics. Apple is also advertising the service with companies that have competing streaming platforms, such as Hulu and NBC.

The tech giant may also be positioning itself to win accolades from Hollywood: Apple took out a full-page ad in the most recent issue of “Emmy,” the publication of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The issue featured Apple TV Plus in its cover story and included a voucher for a free 3-month trial to the service for 25,000 academy members.

Ives, the Wedbush analyst, said Apple TV Plus marketing has been “aggressive” compared to most other Apple launches. He expects advertising to pick up more during the holidays and also a year from now, when Apple will be trying to convert customers who signed on for a free year.

“This is a pivotal juncture for Apple to be successful — they cannot trip over their shoelace,” Ives said. “They were late to the game, they’ve underinvested in content, and they have a lot of room to make up.”


2019 The New York Times Company

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Want to binge watch? New streaming TV services will make you wait

LOS ANGELES - In 2013, Netflix Inc shook up television by delivering 13 episodes of "House of Cards" in one batch, a move that helped popularize streaming video and fueled a culture of binge watching.

But Apple Inc, Walt Disney Co and AT&T Inc are largely rejecting that path as they prepare their own efforts to hook the online audiences that embraced Netflix.

Executives at AT&T's forthcoming HBO Max, a streaming service that will be unveiled to investors on Tuesday, plan to debut one new episode of its original series per week, Robert Greenblatt, chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment and the company's direct-to-consumer business, told Reuters. That mirrors the traditional TV pattern.

"We like the idea that people watch weekly and look forward to the next episode and talk about it," Greenblatt said. "Newspapers write about the storylines. There is a sense of a shared experience."

Creating buzz around a new series will be crucial in the coming weeks and months as several companies jockey to lure customers and keep them paying a monthly fee over the long term.

HBO Max may make some exceptions, according to a source familiar with the company's strategy, by putting out a few episodes simultaneously to stoke initial interest.

Apple, meanwhile, will debut its subscription video service, Apple TV+, on Friday. For dramas "The Morning Show" and "See," and most other Apple series, the company will drop three episodes at the same time, followed by one per week.

The family-friendly Disney+ will unveil episodes weekly for new series including "The Mandalorian," the first live-action TV show set in the "Star Wars" universe. Disney+ will launch on Nov. 12.

'WAIT AND EXPERIENCE'

"Mandalorian" star Pedro Pascal said he believes the once-a-week approach will make watching the show "more romantic and more classic."

"Basically you get to sort of wait and experience more collectively, and it just makes it more event television, which it deserves to be," Pascal said.

"A little courtship never hurt anyone," added co-star Gina Carano.

But to some viewers, going a week after a dramatic cliffhanger "seems like it's old school," said Brett Sappington, principal analyst at Parks Associates.

"For some consumers, that can be frustrating," he said. "Expectations are just different today."

While it started among younger viewers, binge viewing of several episodes is now common among all age groups, Sappington said.

It also has been adopted by audiences around the world.

In surveys by Ampere Analysis, 69 percent of people in the United States said they frequently watch several episodes of the same TV show back to back. The percentage was 66 percent in Britain, 65 percent in France and 46 percent in Germany.

SPIKING AT DEBUT

Various release strategies can generate hits, according to data from Parrot Analytics, which measures global demand for programming. It found interest in binge-able series generally spikes when they debut and then tapers off, while shows released weekly see interest build over time. Both level off around 10 to 12 weeks.

HBO's "Euphoria," for example, released its first installment in June at the same time that Netflix dropped the entire season of "The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance."

Global demand for "Dark Crystal" peaked in the first week after it premiered, while "Euphoria" saw steady increases after each episode came out, according to Parrot Analytics. It reached its highest point around the episode eight finale.

Both shows peaked with roughly 18 million daily "demand expressions," a combination of viewership, social media mentions and online research about the shows.

Even Netflix is experimenting with intervals between episodes. For reality competition "Rhythm + Flow," the company released four installments at first, three more a week later, and the final three a week after that.

Around the world, Netflix distributes roughly 35 shows on a once-a-week basis, Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said in October during the company's earnings webcast. While it does not release audience figures for most of its programming, Sarandos said Netflix customers preferred getting all episodes together.

"We actually get more viewing and cumulatively more social media buzz, more tweets, more activity on social media, around these shows for the all-at-once model," Sarandos said. 

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Additional reporting by Jane Ross in West Hollywood, California; Editing by Bill Tarrant and Cynthia Osterman)

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