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Netflix invented binge-watching. Now it may have outgrown it.
A buzzy Bloomberg report citing Netflix data suggests viewers are increasingly abandoning popular shows before the second season. The likely reasons aren’t hard to guess: Netflix frequently cancels shows, there’s too long a wait in between seasons, and much of Netflix’s content is designed for an algorithm instead of for the sake of art.
But the data also points to a shift in how people are consuming entertainment. Netflix’s defining innovation – the binge — was built for an era when streaming was competing with traditional TV. Today, Netflix is competing with TikTok, YouTube, Reels, and various microdrama apps. That shift makes Netflix’s binge model feel like a dated relic from another era.
Bingeing helped Netflix beat TV
When Netflix first dropped an entire season of “House of Cards” in February 2013, it was a revelation.
Ad-free, internet-connected TV meant we could be unshackled from the traditional routine of once-per-week shows punctuated by commercials. Instead, bingeable shows meant viewers could be entertained for hours on end, quickly forming a bond with titles and their characters that would have otherwise taken years to develop. Plus, you could drop in on them at any time — not only the day the network decided to air them, as with linear television.
This way of viewing made sense in a world where Netflix was largely still competing with traditional TV like broadcast, cable, and satellite. But Netflix won that fight. Nielsen in June 2025 announced that the TV era reached a new milestone, when the Netflix-style streaming format for the first time eclipsed broadcast and cable viewing — a milestone that made clear Netflix’s original competition was no longer the threat.
Now Netflix’s competition isn’t the TV of old, but what has become the TV of today: video apps.
TikTok and YouTube are today’s threats
Thanks to the rise of TikTok, Reels, and other short-form video platforms, there’s no need for you to visit Netflix when you have a couple of hours to kill with mindless entertainment. There’s an endless, free supply of video you can turn to instead.
According to eMarketer analysts, TikTok was already nearing Netflix in terms of time spent back in 2024, when U.S. adults were spending an average of 62.1 minutes per day streaming from Netflix and 58.4 minutes per day on TikTok. In 2024, the Financial Times reported that, globally, TikTok users spent an average of 95 minutes per day on the app, the highest engagement rate among major social networks.
Then there is YouTube, which offers a combination of both short and longer-form content. Per a report released this year by Digital i, YouTube surpassed Netflix in average daily viewing for the first time, with 99.1 minutes daily in 2025 compared with Netflix’s 93.4 minutes.
These market reports use differing methodologies and demographics, so they should be taken with a grain of salt — but directionally, they point the same way. YouTube and apps like TikTok are Netflix’s real competition, not TV.
Netflix has even acknowledged this existential threat by way of a product redesign in April that added a TikTok-like feed based on Netflix content.
Where Netflix gets the feed wrong is that it’s still pitched as a way to help you find something to watch, rather than being the thing you watch. It’s understandable why Netflix went this route, given its library, but it’s not necessarily what the end user wants. Today, many people with dopamine-drained attention spans are instead seeking out microdrama apps in growing numbers when they want a serialized storyline they can consume in minutes.
According to data from the app intelligence firm Appfigures, one top microdrama app, ReelShort, saw roughly $1.2 billion in gross consumer spending in 2025, up 119% from 2024, TechCrunch’s Amanda Silberling previously reported. Meanwhile, another leading app, DramaBox, generated $276 million in gross consumer spending last year, more than doubling its 2024 numbers. Even TikTok acknowledged the competition, launching a microdrama app of its own to test the market appetite for this type of content.
Where does Netflix go from here?
Where does that leave Netflix, whose claim to fame has been full seasons dropped at once for rapid consumption?
Likely, it will have to rethink how it’s greenlighting, producing, and releasing what it considers a “TV show.”
That doesn’t mean that the Netflix model has to pivot entirely to short-form to keep up with the competition, but it may need to reconsider how people want to stream. Viewers may no longer want to commit the hours and weeks it takes to get through a show and all of its subsequent seasons, for instance. They want something that feels more “finishable,” the way you can easily get through a YouTube video or TikTok series from a creator.
A simple fix could see Netflix try prioritizing single-season shows, traditionally known as miniseries or limited series, allowing people to tune into a completed work without having to worry whether it would end on a cliffhanger and never be renewed.
Netflix could also experiment with breaking up shows into smaller chunks, like the before-its-time Quibi model.
The Jeffrey Katzenberg-backed startup, Quibi, had bet that people would eventually gravitate towards TV content designed to be consumed in shorter sessions. Unfortunately for Quibi, the pandemic hit, and people suddenly had a lot of time to watch TV, leading to its demise.
Many Netflix shows could be easily revamped for shorter viewing sessions, particularly lightweight competition shows like “Nailed It,” “Is It Cake?,” or “Squid Game: The Challenge.” Meanwhile, Netflix could surely produce better microdramas than the ones currently on the market with their awful acting and ridiculous storylines.
To generate interest in its higher-quality content, some Netflix shows could be shifted to the weekly release model. This is something Netflix has already proven works in specific cases. For instance, it drops new episodes of its reality show “Love Is Blind” in weekly dumps, making it great watercooler fodder as everyone is watching the new episodes around the same time. (Faster consumption models could work, too. For instance, Peacock’s “Love Island USA” is the reality hit of the summer, as there’s a new episode almost daily).
But instead of experimenting with different types of short-form content for quick entertainment, combined with slower releases for seasons, or focusing more heavily on miniseries worth watching, Netflix has been dabbling in other areas.
As of late, it’s expanded its lineup with podcasts, which reportedly no one is watching, and live content, which can be hit or miss. In terms of the latter, Netflix investments in live sports have generally done well, but its recent entry into live reality competition shows, “Star Search,” has already been canceled despite a clever real-time voting feature. More work here is still needed.
Bloomberg’s report framed the problem facing Netflix as a failure to create loyal TV viewers who tune into a Season 2, but the underlying issue facing the streamer is much bigger. Netflix may need to rethink whether it still needs to focus on competing with traditional TV and its long-running shows, or whether it should focus on entertainment projects whose storytelling arcs have less filler and wrap up more quickly.
To find the right balance between viewers ditching cable and those who just want something better than TikTok, Netflix is finding itself needing to reinvent TV all over again.
News
‘Africa Deserved Better’ — Engr. Samuel Jackson Laments Heartbreaking Exit of Egypt, Senegal, as Continent Wins Global Respect
The President of the Nigeria Armwrestling Federation, Engr. Samuel Jackson, has expressed deep disappointment over the elimination of Africa’s leading representatives at the ongoing FIFA World Cup, describing the exits of Egypt, Senegal, South Africa, Ghana, DR Congo, Ivory Coast, Algeria and Cape Verde as heartbreaking despite their outstanding performances.
Jackson said the tournament has proved beyond doubt that African football has reached a new level, with the continent producing some of the most exciting performances of the competition.
His biggest praise went to Egypt, who came within minutes of eliminating defending champions Argentina before suffering a dramatic 3-2 defeat after leading 2-0 late in the game. He described the result as cruel, insisting the Pharaohs deserved more for their courage and quality.
“My heart goes out to Egypt. They showed the world that African football has matured. To push the world champions to the edge of elimination is no small achievement. They may be out, but they have won the admiration of millions.”
He also commended South Africa, whose return to the World Cup after years away ended with a narrow defeat to Canada, describing Bafana Bafana’s campaign as one that has restored belief in Southern African football.
Jackson reserved special praise for Senegal, saying the Teranga Lions once again demonstrated why they remain one of Africa’s football giants despite their narrow knockout defeat to Belgium.
He equally applauded Cape Verde, making its World Cup debut, for taking Argentina into extra time before bowing out in one of the tournament’s most thrilling encounters, while Ghana, Ivory Coast, DR Congo and Algeria were praised for reaching the knockout rounds and competing fearlessly against some of the world’s biggest football nations.
“Africa may not have reached the quarter-finals in the numbers we hoped for, but this World Cup belongs to Africa as much as anyone. Our teams have changed the narrative. The world now respects African football because our players competed with courage, discipline and confidence.”
Jackson added that the performances should encourage African governments, corporate organisations and sports administrators to invest more in grassroots sports, noting that with sustained support, African nations can soon produce a FIFA World Cup champion.
“Africa’s future is bright. Today’s disappointment will become tomorrow’s triumph if we continue to invest in our athletes and believe in their potential.”
The Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) has given the federal government 21 days to address outstanding salary and welfare issues or face a nationwide indefinite strike.
The association’s President, Nosa Orhue, announced the ultimatum on Tuesday in Abuja after a meeting of the union’s National Executive Council (NEC).
Mr Orhue said the government must conclude negotiations within the next 21 days, warning that the union would reconvene after the deadline to decide its next course of action if there was no meaningful progress.
According to him, the association had engaged government through dialogue for more than 24 months without meaningful progress.
Mr Orhue said the association was dissatisfied that negotiations on the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement had remained stalled since 9 April, in spite of repeated engagements.
He alleged that while improved welfare packages had been implemented for other university unions, NAMDA members remained excluded, resulting in non-payment of earned academic and professorial allowances and worsening brain drain among medical academics.
The NAMDA president attributed the dispute largely to salary disparities between university-based medical lecturers and hospital consultants performing identical professional duties.
He explained that medical academics combine teaching, research and clinical responsibilities, including patient care, surgeries and hospital administration.
According to him, they earn less than their counterparts in the hospital system despite maintaining the same professional qualifications and practising licences.
Mr Orhue said the federal government had previously recognised the unique status of medical academics through their placement on the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS). He added that the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, had supported salary parity and communicated the position to the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission.
He, however, alleged that some government agencies were frustrating implementation of the agreement.
Mr Orhue reaffirmed that CONMESS remained the only acceptable salary framework for medical and dental academics.
He warned that any attempt to replace it with another structure could trigger industrial action.
He also rejected what he described as the forced migration of members above 65 years from CONMESS to the Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure (CONUASS).
READ ALSO: NARD backs LAUTECH doctors, warns of indefinite strike
According to him, the move amounts to a demotion and results in financial losses for affected academics.
He said the association was also demanding implementation of special pension benefits for retired hospital-based academics and opposed the National Universities Commission’s requirement for medical academics to obtain PhD qualifications.
In spite of the dispute, Mr Orhue commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for efforts to improve university education and hailed the Minister of Education for supporting salary parity for medical academics.
He also lauded the federal government’s preparedness for a possible Ebola outbreak and pledged the association’s support toward strengthening the country’s public health response.
(NAN)
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