How long is too long between new TV seasons?
How long is too long between new TV seasons?
Data from Luminate indicates American TV seasons are much less likely to grow their audience after a long hiatus.
Keeping audiences waiting can be a dangerous game. That’s the main takeaway from new data published by Luminate, which shows that popular streaming platforms that force subscribers to wait a long time between new seasons of marquee TV shows risk losing a big part of that title’s audience. Finding the sweet spot for releases is key, highlighting the delicate balance streamers have to maintain between keeping customers happy and controlling costs.
Key Details:
- Don’t make them wait: Luminate’s data shows that the new season of “Love Island” more than doubled its engagement after a layoff of one year between seasons.
- Longer isn’t better: The data also shows that leaving customers waiting for longer than a year can have major viewership consequences.
- Rewards to be had: “The Pitt” Season 2 saw a 172% viewing surge after releasing its second season quickly.
Luminate’s numbers show that leaving shorter gaps between TV seasons can be a smart idea for streaming services. It cites Season 8 of “Love Island USA” on Peacock, which was released nearly a year to the day after the previous season premiere. The show drew 5.7 million views per episode in its first week of availability, as compared to 2.3 million per episode over one week last season.
Another new TV release isn’t doing quite so well this summer, however. Netflix’s live-action adaptation of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” has seen its estimated views drop 60% from Season 1 to Season 2, after a hiatus of more than two years between seasons.
That sample size may seem a bit small to make the declarative statement that leaving long gaps between TV seasons always leads to a decline in viewership. But Luminate took a deeper dive into the data and found that, with a couple of exceptions, streaming shows that take long breaks between seasons are far more likely to lose viewers than gain them.
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” Season 2 suffered most harshly of any show measured by Luminate, losing 71% of its viewership between Season 1 and Season 2 after a two-year gap. All but two of the ten shows measured by Luminate for its study lost viewership during gaps of at least 1.75 years between seasons. The two exceptions were “Severance,” which saw its viewership explode 273% after a three-year gap between Seasons 1 and 2; and “Bridgerton” Season 3, which came out two years after Season 2.
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There is also more evidence to suggest that shorter waits between seasons can be beneficial in not only bringing back the audience from the previous season, but also attracting new viewers. After an approximate hiatus of one year, the HBO Max medical drama series “The Pitt” saw a viewership jump of 172% between Seasons 1 and 2. Season 3 of “The Night Agent” Season 3 is the only show measured by Luminate that suffered a viewership decrease after a gap of 1.3 years or less between seasons.
Click chart to expand.
The data highlights the tough spot streaming services find themselves in as they try to determine release schedules. The data seems to indicate a clear correlation between long delays and losing viewers, so keeping audiences waiting for a long time appears contraindicated.
However, rushing new TV seasons to viewers can not only be expensive, but can lead to lower-quality productions overall. This is less of a problem with reality shows like “Love Island,” but for scripted titles, having sufficient production time is crucial to delivering the quality that viewers are expecting.
It’s a high wire that streaming services will continue to have to walk. Luminate’s data clearly shows that leaving long gaps between TV seasons is a big gamble for streamers, but they cannot afford to sacrifice too much quality simply in the name of getting new episodes out.
Peacock
Peacock is a subscription video streaming service from NBCUniversal that includes original shows, blockbuster movies, and classic television series. Peacock is home to “Yellowstone,” “The Office,” and original hits like “Poker Face” and “Bel-Air.” You can also watch live sports and NBC programming, including the NFL, MLB, WWE, the Olympics, the Premier League, NASCAR, the French Open, college football and basketball, and the PGA Tour. Premium Plus subscribers can stream their local NBC feed in all 210 markets.