Turning to Nostalgia: Will Netflix Bring Back the Movie Serial?

Netflix has reportedly been approached with a new proposal that could bring movie serials, popularized in the 1930s, back to theaters. The plan would also provide Netflix with content sooner after theatrical distribution. The proposal calls for movie studios to produce miniseries comprised of one- to two-hour episodes that would be released in theaters about every two months. A few weeks after their theater releases, the episodes would then become exclusively available on Netflix.

Netflix has already discussed the possibility of streaming films the same day they appear in theaters. And the video service recently announced a deal with Disney to stream four TV series based on Marvel characters, culminating in a movie about the superhero group “The Defenders.”

However, Business Insider suggests there a few reasons why the plan might not fit with the company’s overall strategy:

“First, it goes against the binge model of content consumption that the company has been talking up with its original series like ‘House of Cards’ and ‘Orange Is The New Black,'” notes the article. “Back in February, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said that the way its users watch several episodes of a show at a time rather than spacing them out over longer periods was changing the way we talk about television.”

The second issue involves cost. “Netflix has shown that it’s not afraid to invest in premium content, but offering content that could also bring in large theater audiences would likely require far more of an investment than the $4 million per episode the company has put behind its original shows,” explains BI.

“With revenue for the serials split between ticket sales at theaters and the subscriptions gained from customers attracted by the new content, the investments movie studios expect from Netflix may be too high to get the kind of returns Kevin Spacey (who starred in and produced ‘House of Cards’) bragged about in his speech that went viral back in August.”

SlashGear brings up an additional wrinkle: Would the viewing public even be interested in such a plan — and would the duration between episodes be too long for today’s consumer? “With Netflix taking four weeks to get the episodes and there being four more before the next episode releases, the wait will be much longer than equivalent shows on cable networks.”

No Comments Yet

You can be the first to comment!

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.