Lovefilm won’t follow Netflix’s binge-viewing strategy for new content
Amazon, which owns the Lovefilm streaming service in the UK, has decided against making its forthcoming original content available to subscribers in one sitting.
Judging
by comments from the producer of one of its new shows, the retailer
will seek to distinguish itself from its great rival Netflix by adopting a different streaming model for shows it produces in house.
Netflix’s
binge-viewing strategy, which has seen new series of Arrested
Development, House of Cards and Lilyhammer thrown out for total
consumption without delay, has been touted as the future of television,
but Amazon, it seems, feels differently.
Jonathan Alter, the
executive producer of Alpha House, an Amazon original political comedy
starring John Goodman, says the release schedule hasn’t been determined
yet, but it won’t follow Netflix’s model.
That suggests that
Amazon will release episodes periodically, perhaps following the
time-tested tradition of weekly installments, with unlimited streaming
thereafter?
The company is already diversifying away from
Netflix’s approach when it comes to new content by allowing viewers to
become virtual Hollywood executives.
A recent pilot scheme
allowed viewers to choose from a host of one-off programmes screened in
the UK (through Lovefilm Instant) and the US (on Amazon Prime) by voting
on the best.
Five of those shows made the cut, including Alpha
House, which could debut before the end of the year. The others include
Betas and kids shows Creative Galaxy and Tumbleaf.
Do you think
Amazon is right to snub the Netflix approach or has the company already
set in motion the dominant way to watch TV in the future.
Via SlashGear
Next: Read our Netflix vs Lovefilm comparison