I was prepared to comment on the “binge viewing” thing being the (possibly) fatal flaw in the business model — but, the article said what I wanted to say, and more, very well.
I got Netflix (online version) for one month (total cost = $8.00) and binge-viewed my eyes out. Then I cancelled my account, with the intention of renewing several months later, when new material is up. By comparison releasing an episode a week keeps you hooked on (say) HBO. You have to subscribe to HBO for at least three months, to catch a season of a show. Meanwhile, you get hooked on another program, that doesn’t end for a few more weeks. Then another ... etc. I only get HBO for “Game of Thrones” — and that requires a three-month subscription, at over twice the price of NetFlix. IOW, at least 6 times the revenue that Netflix will get from me, if I subscribe for a month to watch “House of Cards” (and whatever else looks good).
Oh, there are so many more things on Netflix. I am currently working through a Scandinavian crime series. Also working through the xfiles and columbo. And for the HBO series, I wait for them to hit amazon video, about 1/3 the cost of hbo sub.
There’s nothing sacrosanct about watching one episode per week of a show. It evolved that way because early TV shows aired live — it took a week to write, rehearse, and perform an episode. If they COULD have done more, they would have.
Binge viewing is how lots of people (including me) enjoy TV now. You can hang onto to smaller plot threads. Plus, I don’t have time during the week. I wanna hunker down on Saturday night and watch a half or whole season of “Mad Men.” And yeah, last weekend I powered through the first fives episodes of “House of Cards.” Loved it.
Waiting for weekly episodes is nonsensical and outmoded. There’s no technical reason for it any longer.