A noisy Bloomberg report Citing Netflix data, it shows that viewers are increasingly ditching popular shows before their second season. It’s not hard to guess the likely reasons: Netflix often cancels shows, there are very long waits between seasons, and most of Netflix’s content is designed for the algorithm rather than the art.
But the data also points to how people consume entertainment. Netflix’s defining innovation – binge – was created for an era where streaming is competing with traditional TV. Today, Netflix competes with TikTok, YouTube, Reels and various microdrama programs. This change makes Netflix’s binge model feel like an old relic from another era.
Bingeing helped Netflix conquer TV
When Netflix first released an entire season of House of Cards February 2013, it was a revelation.
Ad-free, internet-connected TV meant we could break free from the traditional routine of once-a-week commercial-punctuated shows. Instead, shows could quickly connect with titles and their characters, keeping viewers entertained for hours. Plus, you can access them at any time—not just the day the network decides to air them, like on cable TV.
This viewing style made sense in a world where Netflix still competes with traditional TV like broadcast, cable and satellite. But Netflix won that fight. Nielsen in June 2025 announced The era of television reached a new stage when a Netflix-style streaming format overtook broadcast and cable viewing for the first time—a stage that signaled that Netflix’s original competition was no longer a threat.
Now, Netflix’s competition isn’t old TV, but what’s becoming today’s TV: video apps.
TikTok and YouTube are the dangers of today
Thanks to the rise of TikTok, Reels and other short-form video platforms, there’s no need to visit Netflix when you have a few hours to kill with mindless entertainment. Instead, there’s an endless supply of free videos you can turn to.
according to eMarketer analystsTikTok was already approaching Netflix in terms of time spent in 2024, with US adults spending an average of 62.1 minutes per day on Netflix and 58.4 minutes per day on TikTok. In 2024 The Financial Times reported on this that TikTok users globally spent an average of 95 minutes per day on the app, the highest engagement rate among major social networks.
Then there’s YouTube, which offers a mix of both short and long-form content. According to the report Released this year by Digital iYouTube surpassed Netflix in average daily views for the first time in 2025 with 99.1 minutes per day compared to Netflix’s 93.4 minutes.
These market reports use different methodologies and demographics, so they should be taken with a grain of salt, but indicatively they point the same way. Apps like YouTube and TikTok are Netflix’s real competition, not TV.
Netflix even acknowledged this existential threat with a product redesign in April. A TikTok-like feed based on Netflix content.
Where Netflix gets the feed wrong is that it’s presented as a way to help you find something to watch, rather than being what you’re still watching. Given its library, it’s understandable why Netflix would go this route, but it’s not what the end user wants. Today, attention is replaced by many people who have been drained of dopamine seeks increasing numbers of microdrama programs they can consume it in minutes when they want a serialized storyline.
According to research firm Appfigures, ReelShort, the top microdrama app, saw total consumer spending of nearly $1.2 billion in 2025, up 119% from 2024. TechCrunch’s Amanda Silberling reported earlier. Meanwhile, another leading app, DramaBox, generated $276 million in total consumer spending last year, more than doubling its 2024 figures. Even TikTok has acknowledged the competition, launches the microdrama program is unique in testing market appetite for this type of content.
Where does Netflix go from here?
Where does that leave Netflix, whose claim to fame is suddenly full seasons for instant consumption?
It will likely have to rethink how to greenlight, produce and broadcast what it considers a “television show.”
That doesn’t mean Netflix’s model has to go completely short-form to keep up with the competition, but it may have to rethink how people want to stream. Viewers may not want to commit the hours and weeks it takes to sit through a show and all its subsequent seasons, for example. They want something more “finishable” where you can easily jump from a YouTube video or a TikTok series from a creator.
A simple fix could see Netflix try to prioritize one-season shows, traditionally known as miniseries or limited seriesit allows people to adapt to a finished work without having to worry about whether it will be a cliffhanger and never be renewed.
Netflix could also experiment with breaking up shows into smaller chunks, like it did before Quibi model.
Quibi, a startup backed by Jeffrey Katzenberg, was betting that people would eventually gravitate toward TV content designed to be consumed in shorter sessions. Unfortunately for Quibi, pandemic hitand people suddenly had a lot of time to watch TV, which led to its demise.
Many Netflix shows can easily be updated for shorter viewing sessions, notably Nailed It, Is It Cake? or lighthearted competition shows like Squid Game: The Challenge. In the meantime, Netflix can certainly make better micro-drama than they already have currently on the market with their gruesome acts and ridiculous stories.
Some Netflix shows may be moved to a weekly release model to generate interest in higher-quality content. This is something that Netflix has already proven to work in specific cases. For example, it presents new episodes of the reality show “Love Is Blind”. weekly dumpsmaking it great water cooler fodder as everyone watches new episodes at the same time. (Faster consumption models can also work. For example, Peacock’s “Love Island USA” reality hit stream as there is a new episode almost every day).
Instead of experimenting with different types of short-form content for quick entertainment, combining slower releases for seasons, or focusing more on watchable miniseries, Netflix is dabbling in other areas.
Lately, he’s expanded his lineup with podcasts it is reported that no one is watchingand live contentit can be hit or miss. In terms of the latter, Netflix investments live sports generally worked well, but his last entry live reality competition showsThere is “Star Quest”. has already been cancelled despite the intelligent real-time voting feature. More work is still needed here.
Bloomberg’s report framed the problem facing Netflix as a failure to build loyal TV viewers who tune in for Season 2, but the underlying problem facing the streamer is much bigger. Netflix may still need to rethink whether it should focus on competing with traditional TV and its long-running shows, or whether it should focus on entertainment projects with less filler story arcs and quicker wrap-ups.
To find the right balance between viewers who ditch cable and those who simply want something better than TikTok, Netflix needs to reinvent TV.
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