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Netflix is airing some shows weekly, but binging isn’t going away

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Petrana Radulovic is an entertainment reporter specializing in animation, fandom culture, theme parks, Disney, and young adult fantasy franchises.

Earlier this week, rumors broke that Netflix was switching to a weekly release model. Instead of releasing all episodes of a show at once, outlets reported, the platform would release episodes weekly, something competitors like Hulu and Disney Plus either already do or plan to do.

These rumors popped up because two Netflix titles — The Great British Baking Show and new competition series Rhythm + Flow — are releasing episodes weekly, not all at once.

But according to Netflix, nothing will change about its release model. The company tweeted out a statement in reply to one of these reports and a representative confirmed the message with Polygon.

In fact, the weekly release schedule is something that Netflix has been doing for a while, specifically with licensed titles like The Great British Baking Show. The streaming service started doing this for its UK customers with Breaking Bad and continues to do so in the U.K. for shows like The Good Place, Better Call Saul, and Suits, where episodes can be available on Netflix shortly after they air on television in the United States. When it comes to The Great British Baking Show, the locale is simply flipped; now the episodes are available in the U.S. shortly after they air in the U.K.

When it comes to reality show Rhythm + Flow, Netflix is simply trying something different — especially when it comes to a competition show where finding out the winner is pivotal. Outside of licensed content, Netflix does weekly drops for other episodes dependent on the formula, such as Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj which has weekly releases as a news-style talk show.

While Netflix may be experimenting its release schedule with shows that require different formants, when it comes to Netflix originals like Stranger Things, Glow, and Queer Eye, the regular drop of all episodes at once will remain the same.

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