Weekly Episode Releases Drive Higher Viewer Engagement and Subscriptions on Streaming Platforms, Study Finds

BALTIMORE, Dec. 17, 2025 – A new peer-reviewed study in the INFORMS journal Marketing Science reveals that gradually releasing TV show episodes, rather than offering full seasons all at once for binge-watchers, significantly increases engagement on subscription video-on-demand (SVoD) platforms, leading to substantially higher subscription rates.

The research provides the first large-scale causal evidence from a real-world randomized field experiment showing how release strategies shape viewing patterns, content discovery and retention across 84,000 viewers over a five-week randomized trial.

The study, “When Less Is More: Content Strategies for Subscription Video on Demand,” was authored by Miguel Godinho de Matos of Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, Samir Mamadehussene of the University of Texas at Dallas and Pedro Ferreira of Carnegie Mellon University.

To conduct their study, researchers made sure that across a five-week randomized field trial conducted with a major multinational telecommunications provider, viewers were assigned to a gradual (drip) release schedule. As a result, they found these viewers were 48% more likely to continue using the platform. They were more likely to return on a weekly basis to explore additional content.

When the researchers studied the all-at-once release of episodes, they found that while this approach initially attracted more binge-watchers who were eager to start a new series immediately after launch, those platform users did not engage with the platform over time in a more sustained way.

“The moment all-at-once viewers finish a fully released show, they often leave the platform,” de Matos said. “A drip schedule keeps viewers engaged for weeks, giving them time to search, browse, and find other shows they enjoy.”

“Releasing episodes slowly creates natural touchpoints that bring viewers back each week,” said Mamadehussene. “Those repeated visits dramatically expand content discovery and strengthen retention.”

When given all-at-once access, drip-release viewers tended to watch fewer episodes the first week, but they did watch significantly more episodes in later weeks. They increased exploration of the platform catalog, and ultimately consumed more total content than those given all episodes upfront.

At the end of the free trial, drip-release users were 1.7% more likely to subscribe, a 48% increase over the all-at-once group’s baseline subscription rate of 3.48%.

To be sure, the study found that this effect varied based on binge-watching preferences. For heavy binge watchers, the lack of immediate access to full seasons reduced engagement, lowering subscription likelihood. These findings help explain why major streamers which popularized binge releases, such as Netflix, have increasingly adopted weekly or hybrid release models.

“Our results show that the drip-style release schedule boosts both engagement and subscription revenue,” said Ferreira. “When it comes to sustaining audience interest, sometimes less really is more.”

Read the full study here.

About Marketing Science and INFORMS

Marketing Science is a premier peer-reviewed scholarly marketing journal focused on research using quantitative approaches to study all aspects of the interface between consumers and firms. It is published by INFORMS, the world’s largest association for professionals and students in operations research, AI, analytics, data science, and related disciplines.

INFORMS serves as a global authority in advancing cutting-edge practices and fostering an interdisciplinary community of innovation. With a network of more than 12,000 members across academia, industry, and government, INFORMS connects thought leaders and emerging professionals who apply science and technology to solve complex challenges and drive better decision-making.

Through its prestigious journals, world-class conferences, certification programs, and professional resources, INFORMS empowers its community to enhance operational efficiency, elevate organizational performance, and promote smarter decisions for a better world.

Discover more at www.informs.org

Contact:

Rebecca Seel

Public Affairs Specialist, INFORMS

[email protected]

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