No gorging on Alpha House for Lovefilm viewers
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
