NEWS

The Future Of Television? Binge-Watching Is Only The Beginning

December 7, 2018

With providers like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, and more creative risks, network leaders are placing bets on how audience experience will evolve

 
 
ON DEMAND “Our ambitions are to entertain the entire world’s population,” says Cindy Holland, Netflix’s vice president of original content.
ON DEMAND “Our ambitions are to entertain the entire world’s population,” says Cindy Holland, Netflix’s vice president of original content. ILLUSTRATION: BEN WISEMA
 

STREAMING VIDEO on demand has changed the audience experience more in a few years than cable television did over a few decades, and industry executives are unanimous in the belief that the new model has not reached its full potential. Technology continues to revolutionize how we experience entertainment, which programming we have access to and which storytellers are given the means to tell the stories. Some of the most valuable companies in the world are placing big bets on what’s coming next.

“What might we see coming down the road?” says Beau Willimon, creator of The First, Hulu’s sci-fi drama starring Sean Penn and Natascha McElhone. “Perhaps like [the characters] in my new show, we’re all wearing augmented reality glasses, and we’re experiencing television shows in a more intimate way—a way that feels much more experiential than simply watching it on a rectangle.”

When Willimon’s first show, House of Cards, premiered in 2013, it was the first time an entire season of a Netflix-produced show had been made available all at once to audiences. “It had never been tried before,” says Willimon. “It all felt very experimental. We were a bit shocked at how quickly the world glommed onto the idea of streaming shows over the internet and binge-watching seasons.”

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-future-of-television-binge-watching-is-only-the-beginning-1544111448